


The Proposal

by PrairieFarmGirl



Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/M, Mail Order Brides, Wild West, alternative universe, frontier life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:41:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 61,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23671747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrairieFarmGirl/pseuds/PrairieFarmGirl
Summary: Claire is 22 and living on her own in Boston in the mid 1800′s.  She wants to move out of the city and is dazzled by the accounts of what she’s read of life on the frontier.  The problem?  She needs to find a way out of Boston.  She runs across an idea to advertise “looking for a situation”.  Jamie Fraser, living in Williamsburg in Indian Territory and looking to ease his loneliness, answers her letter.  Is Claire really cut out for frontier life?  Is Jamie ready for Claire?
Relationships: Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser
Comments: 614
Kudos: 802





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a new fanfic that I’ve been tossing around in my brain and had started and deleted several times over. I’ve taken some (a LOT) of license with the setting. I have tightened up the timeline from the time that the west was considered “Indian Territory” to the time that settlers arrived and were able to purchase land, and to the time where the railroad ran through the land. I purposely don’t mention a specific place along the railroad. You can make that up in your brain. All cities (other than the large cities) are made up places.
> 
> This is a multi-chapter story. I have no idea how long it will be. I’ll just plug along on it (probably weekly) until the story is done. Enjoy!

The train from Boston to the end of civilization, as she knew it, seemed to go on for an interminable amount of time. Claire tried to stay busy. She read, she walked the length of the train in between stops to stretch her legs, she napped, she visited with the elderly woman who sat next to her. She sighed. She fidgeted with the skirt of her traveling outfit.

What she really wanted was to reach her destination finally. Traveling was not pleasant in this day and age. She knew the forts on the frontier provided safe passage for the railroads and travelers, but that didn’t make her any less anxious until she reached her destination.

She had read accounts of “bloodthirsty savages killing innocent women and children” in the newspapers, which she mostly discounted as the newspapers tended to lean toward sensationalism. But she had also read of the beauties of the prairie that stretched out as far as the eye could see. She was not cut out for city life, that was for certain. She had lived in Boston for 15 years with her Uncle Lamb, from the time she lost her parents when she was 5. She didn’t remember much of her time with her parents.

She longed for a place where her eyes could roam the countryside and see the horizon. She longed for a place where she could watch the sunset from a rocking chair on her front porch, surrounded by only the sound of crickets and frogs in the creek.

She picked up her book again and continued to read the accounts from the pioneers settling on the western frontier. She immersed herself into the peacefulness of the story that broadened her imagination. She had never heard crickets chirp or frogs in the creek. She only knew of life in the city. People shouting, tradesmen selling their goods, dodging horses and wagons bustling down a busy street. She couldn’t imagine “quiet”.

**********

When Uncle Lamb died, leaving her alone in the world, a 22-year-old unmarried woman, she began to search for ways to chase her dream of finding that “quiet”.

She first investigated the idea of purchasing a piece of land with Uncle Lamb’s sizable inheritance. She was laughed at and summarily turned away by the male clerk at the Land Office because she was a woman.

She inquired of people she trusted who might know how she could go about it all. She was dismissed and told, “My dear, it’s just not done.” One had even told her, “Miss Beauchamp, you should worry less about chasing your dreams out in the wild west and focus more on finding a suitable husband as befits your station.” To that end, another teased with, “I hear plenty of men are looking for mail order brides out there!”

She huffed off in a fit of fury at that last comment.

Until, she began to contemplate it…

What if she DID try to find a husband in that way? She could find a way out to the frontier. She could just…decline to marry him once she got there, couldn’t she? She could then worry about purchasing a home once she was there.

Maybe…

**********

Claire prepared her advertisement. She had reviewed other similar bids in the newspapers and decided to follow suit.

> _Single 22 year old orphaned female in Boston searching for a situation on the frontier. Clear of complexion, reasonably attractive. 5 foot 8 inches in height. Willowy in stature. Educated, but not afraid to work hard. Experienced in healing. Apply to this office for information._

Within the first month, she had several replies, most of which didn’t sound remotely suitable. The vast majority required a cook, maid and laundress. Others were seeking a broodmare to fill the house with children, suitable to help with the farm work. Still others went straight into the fire in the parlor for being unsettlingly perverted. She had quite despaired of ever finding a way out of Boston, until she received a crumpled letter.

> _Williamsburg, Indian Territory_
> 
> _Inquiring of advertisement from your offices regarding a 22 year old orphaned female searching for a situation on the frontier. Would be interested in corresponding with the lady. 24 year old Scottish immigrant located in Indian Territory on horse farm a short distance from the AT &SF railroad. Seeking a partner. Correspond at above address. _
> 
> _James A.M.M. Fraser_

Claire was drawn to the last sentence. “Seeking a partner.” He hadn’t mentioned marriage, needing her to service her husband, or to be an unpaid slave. She was intrigued by the mention of Indian Territory. A study of Uncle Lamb’s map told her that Williamsburg was located in Indian Territory, but not too far from civilization if he was close to the railroad.

She drew out a sheet of stationery and dipped her pen in ink to begin her letter.

> _Dear Mr. Fraser,_
> 
> _I am in receipt of your reply to my advertisement seeking a situation on the frontier._
> 
> _I am located in Boston currently but would seek a situation on the prairie, looking for a quieter life. I am skilled at healing and the running of a home, had a decent education, can read and write, as well as ciphering. My uncle raised me from the time I was 5. He recently passed away, leaving me in possession of a sizable inheritance with which to care for myself._
> 
> _I find myself restless here in the city and am looking for an adventure, I suppose. I would dearly love to build a life where it is quiet and peaceful. Your horse farm sounds intriguing._
> 
> _If you are still interested, please address me at the above address._
> 
> _Sincerely, Miss Claire E. Beauchamp_

She received a reply nearly three weeks later.

> _Dear Miss Beauchamp,_
> 
> _I am in receipt of your letter this morning. I am pleased to hear from you so promptly._
> 
> _First, a wee bit about me. I immigrated to this Territory two years ago with my brother, William. We settled near to Williamsburg, as my brother felt that was a sign, given his name. He and I were able to purchase two neighboring plots of land that we farm together. I now have horse stables on my land where I breed and sell horses. My brother and his wife, Mary, raise cattle and other livestock._
> 
> _I find myself enjoying the solace out here on the prairie, as promised by the newsleafs Will and I were enticed by. But pioneer life, as I’m told it is called, is a hard life. Many are often plagued by local Indians, but Will and I don’t find that to be true for our area. We have been friendly with the area tribe. We trade with the local natives, even if communication is somewhat difficult._
> 
> _Will and Mary have encouraged me to find someone to keep me company. I did not intend to marry, but if we are a good match, I am not opposed to it. I propose that we correspond and get to know each other better, if that will suit you._
> 
> _Kindest regards,_
> 
> _James A.M.M. Fraser_

**********

Jamie, as she had come to know him, and she had corresponded over the course of three months. She had had a friend draw her portrait so she might send it to him. He, in turn, sent a small miniature of himself in full Highland regalia, which he had painted by a friend, who was a talented hobbyist painter. Claire was further intrigued by this Highlander. He had auburn hair, in the painting, piercing blue eyes, fair skin and cut a fine figure.

She was becoming captivated by Jamie. His correspondence, while formal, was humorous and complimentary to her. His latest letter had suggested a visit to see if they were compatible.

And thus she found herself on a train heading to the frontier.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our story left us with Claire on a train to Williamsburg in Indian Territory to meet with Jamie Fraser, who answered her ad in the paper. They had been corresponding and Claire decided to give it a go. She was excited to finally make the trip to the West, but was she really cut out for all that? She finally meets Jamie, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so glad that y’all are liking the pioneer thing. I’m a big old history buff, so this era is where I’m comfortable writing. There will likely be more like this. Maybe. Probably. I have a couple ideas brewing….

“Miss Beauchamp.” **  
**

Claire was roused from a nap. She stretched and yawned, blinked her eyes and squinted up at the conductor.

“Miss Beauchamp, we’re approaching your stop. Williamsburg is about 15 minutes ahead. I thought you’d like to freshen up a bit before you get off the train.”

“Oh! Yes, yes…thank you.”

Claire stood up, muscles sore from too much sitting in a tight space and walked back to her sleeping quarters. She splashed water on her face, repaired her hair (or what she could do with it, given that it was usually unruly and didn’t stay in place for too long) and pinched some color into her cheeks. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Not too terrible.

Well, this is it. Her belly was full of butterflies, nerves getting the best of her. Her breath was coming in short pants. Standing up to her full height, she smoothed the wrinkles from her best traveling dress, closed her eyes and took several deep, cleansing breaths. Taking her bonnet from her table, she put it on and tied the strings loosely. 

She was ready to meet her fate.

**********

As Claire exited the train at her stop, the bellman depositing her bags by her, she scanned the crowd at the depot for someone who resembled the picture of Jamie Fraser. She imagined it wouldn’t be too terribly difficult to locate a very tall, red-headed man with an accent.

As it happened, she spotted him first. He was lounging against the wall of the depot, one booted foot extended out, the other bent behind on the wall. He held his hat in his hand and she first noticed the extraordinary way that his hair caught the sunlight, his long curls moving in the gentle breeze. To say that he was red-headed was just not correct. He had every shade ranging from gold to a dark copper. 

It was hard to make out his physique under his black suit, but she could tell he worked hard and likely didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. She noted his long, powerful legs, the fabric of his trousers stretched across his muscles. 

Then he turned and looked directly at her. 

She nearly lost her breath. The miniature of him did not do him justice. 

She knew the exact second that he recognized her. His eyes widened and he looked her up and down. Slowly he stood up to his full height and began to walk in her direction. She noted how he moved so gracefully, despite his tallness. 

“Miss Beauchamp?”

Claire swallowed the lump in her throat. “I am. You must be Mr. Fraser?”

“At your service,” he said, as he extended a hand to her. She stared at his long fingers, dazed, for a second before she composed herself and shook his hand. 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” he said, his blue eyes flashing as he smiled.

“Shall I carry yer bags to the carriage, then?”

“Please.”

Jamie easily hefted the bags sitting at Claire’s feet and walked her to a nearby carriage waiting, two beautiful black horses in the lead. He secured the bags safely to the back, then came around to the front to stroke the nose of a horse that had begun to prance upon seeing him. He spoke lowly in a language that was unrecognizable to Claire. Within a few seconds, the horse calmed. 

“Miss Beauchamp, meet my best matched pair Angus and Rupert. They are a lively pair, particularly Angus here. I reckon he thinks I have a carrot for him in my pocket.”

Jamie reached into his outer suit pocket and pulled out carrots for each horse. They contentedly munched on their treats.

Claire tentatively reached out and stroked Rupert’s back, the muscles rippling at her touch. 

“They are beautiful. How many horses do you have?”

“I have 12 horses right now. Breeding season is nearly upon us, so I hope to increase that soon.” He looked at her long fingers stroking Rupert’s back. “Shall we head for home? We have a bit of a drive ahead of us.”

“How far away from town are you, Mr. Fraser?”

“About 15 minutes. And please, call me Jamie. May I call ye Claire, as we did in our letters?”

“Yes, please do.”

She looked at the carriage finding no easy way to get in without help. She helplessly looked at him. “May I assist ye in, Claire?”

“I suppose you’ll have to. I don’t believe I can manage the climb alone and maintain my dignity,” she laughed. 

He came up behind her and settled his hands upon her waist. She wasn’t sure, but she thought he may have breathed in deeply of the scent of her hair. She grinned inwardly, remembering how she had carefully rinsed her hair out last night in perfumed water.

He lifted her as if she were lighter than air itself and she settled into the seat. He discretely flicked the hem of her skirt down that had revealed her shapely leg above her boot. She looked down at him and nervously thanked him. He held her gaze for a second and then moved to his side of the carriage and entered. He took the reins, and flicking them, the horses launching into a slow trot. 

As they rode out of town, he pointed out several places of interest. The general store. The school. The church. A saloon that had several men spilling out of it and a few ladies hanging onto their necks, who she assumed were “fancy ladies”. She’d never seen one before, but she had certainly heard gossip of the loose women. 

He pointed out places of beauty. A sparkling pond. A crop of wheat waving in the wind resembling the waves of ocean. Along the way, she saw a wide variety of homes. Sod houses, rustic log cabins, homes of wealthier people made of wood or brick closer to what she was used to in Boston. She marveled at the beauty of the lay of the land and the wildlife that surrounded them. 

At one point along the road, Jamie pulled back on the reins and halted the horses. He pointed her gaze toward the horizon, where she was sure she could see for hundreds of miles. 

“Oh Jamie. It’s just truly breathtaking,” she marveled quietly.

“It is. This is one of my favorite places to go. Ye can see for miles around. Buffalo roam just beyond that hill in the distance,” he pointed. “Deer are plentiful here as are other animals. It can be dangerous, though, so dinnae be going out and about on yer own.”

“I won’t. I’ll stay close to you.”

He gave her a sideways look, a hint of a smile on his lips. “See that ye do.”

He flicked the reins and they continued on. Before she knew it, they drove up to a modest, well-constructed 2-story farmhouse. 

“Weel, here we are.” He got out and came around to assist her to the ground. He effortlessly lifted her to the ground, his hands lingering at her waist just a second too long. 

He blinked twice, cleared his throat nervously and then turned to get her bags. 

He led her to the house, which had a lovely front porch with a lovely view of the landscape she noted, and opened the door. 

She entered and looked around. To the right was a small parlor and fireplace. To the left was a modest kitchen and table set for two, complete with fresh flowers. 

“Mary, my brother’s wife, brought us a meal. Are ye hungry?”

“I’m quite famished, yes. It smells wonderful.”

“Weel, I’ll just see to yer bags and the horses and then we can eat.”

He led her up the stairs to a nicely appointed room that had recently been freshened up and had clearly seen a woman’s touch. 

“My room is just across the hall from yer’s, if ye should be in need of anything.”

“Ummm…Jamie, I…I…,” she stammered.

“Is something amiss, lass?”

“Well, I…I suppose I didn’t realize I’d be staying here with you.”

He looked down, ears reddening, and scratched behind his neck. “I’m sorry about that, Claire. I tried to find a hotel room for ye in town, but they were full. Will and Mary don’t have any extra space right now, since they have lodgers in to help with the crops and livestock. I didnae ken what else to do.”

“I see. Well, there’s nothing for it, I suppose.”

“I do promise to keep everything proper, Claire. I dinnae want to ruin yer reputation. No one, other than Will and Mary kens ye’re here. Or that we might be considering marriage.”

Claire wryly smiled at him and nodded. “We’ll just make the best of it, then. It will be nice to get to know you better without a bunch of Nosy Nellies sniffing about, anyway.”

Jamie laughed at that. 

“Weel, I’ll leave ye to it, then. Do ye need anything else before supper?”

“No thank you. I’ll just unpack and freshen up a bit, then I’ll be down to supper.”

Jamie nodded, then softly shut the door. 

Claire exhaled loudly. She was beginning to think that she was in over her head.

**********

During supper, where they had a delicious beef stew, soft crusty bread with butter and jam, and a slice of warm apple pie, they conversed easily, talking of their homes and families. He told of his home in Scotland; she of her home in England and her move to Boston after the death of her parents. He told of his voyage across the ocean (and his terrible bout of seasickness). She told of her travels with her Uncle, who was an archaeologist. 

Before they even realized it, darkness had settled in and they heard the howl of a nearby band of coyotes in the distance. The sound startled Claire, exclaiming, “What in the world is THAT?!” 

Jamie laughed and said, “That, Sassenach, is my cue to see to the animals before the coyotes come visit them. Stay inside and ye’ll be just fine.”

He took down his shotgun from where it rested above the fireplace in the parlor and went out the door. 

She went to the window and looked out after him as he went out to the chicken coop to shut all the doors. From there, he checked each barn door to be sure that each was properly secured. He disappeared around the corner and she lost sight of him. 

Just then she heard a loud howl, knowing that that sound *had* to have come from the yard. With a frightened gasp, she couldn’t help the “Jamie!” that came out of her mouth. She had never been more terrified in her life! She had no idea what a ‘coyote’ was, but she knew what a wolf was and she knew they were fearsome creatures not to be trifled with.

She cracked the window to see if she could hear anything from outside. She yelled, “Jamie! Are you alright?” 

Nothing. 

“Jamie!”

Then suddenly a loud shot from behind the stables sounded out, causing Claire to nearly jump out of her own skin. She gripped the window sill tightly, hands trembling, trying to hear any trace of Jamie’s voice. 

All that she could hear were the horses in the stables whinnying restlessly.

When the door finally opened and Jamie entered, Claire ran to him and leapt into his arms. 

“My God, Jamie! Are you alright?! I’ve never been so frightened in all my life! When you wouldn’t answer me, I didn’t know if you were alive or dead!”

“Weel, Sassenach,” he said, grinning at her and gently pulling away from her, noting the look of sheer terror in her eyes, “I cannae say that I mind a greeting like this after shooting a coyote. But it really was nothing, ye ken. They are out here all the time.”

“What in the world is a coyote?”

“Come see.”

He opened the door to see a dead animal laying at the foot of the stairs to the front porch. Claire inched forward behind him, cautiously peering around his shoulder. 

It looked like a dog. A mangy dog, but a dog nonetheless.

“Ye see? Nothing to worry about. But ye ken, they are out running this time of evening, looking for food. Ye dinnae want to be out walking about wi’out me. In fact, I dinnae want ye out and about at all wi’out me. Will and I get along with the local Indians but I dinnae ken what they would do if they saw ye. Do ye understand? Keep to the house.”

Claire gave him a worried look and nodded. 

“Truly, Claire, ye’ll be fine. Just mind me and all will be well. Now I’ll go see to getting rid of the coyote and settle down the animals. I’ll be back shortly. Do ye mind seeing to the supper dishes? It will give ye something to do besides worry about the coyotes,” he smiled at her gently and squeezed her shoulder.

“Of course. Please be careful.”

“I will. I’ll be back shortly.”

Claire cleared the table and set about washing the dishes and tidying up the kitchen. When she had finished, she went into the parlor and sat down in a chair beside the fire. She picked up a book that was sitting on the table by the chair and opened it. She began to read it, rubbing her eyes as the words started to run together and blur. 

And that’s how Jamie found her when he returned. She had fallen asleep in the chair holding the book. He leaned against the wall, looking her over. She was beautiful to him, but in the glow of the firelight, she was even more so. 

He thought they’d get along just fine and hoped she’d make a good wife. 

Pushing off the wall, he softly walked across the floor, took the book from her and lifted her in his arms, marveling that she weighed barely more than a feather. He carried her up to her room and gently placed her on the bed, removing her boots.

That’s when she woke up with a start.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie and Claire are getting to know each other. Claire got just a wee taste of the frontier that night at supper. We left our story with Claire falling asleep in the chair by the fire and Jamie carrying her upstairs to bed. You just *know* this won’t go smoothly, eh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a short chapter. It was just a good stopping place. Sorry about that! Thanks SO much for all the great comments on this! I’m really having fun writing it! I try to update on Saturdays.

Claire had been in a sound, dreamless sleep when she slowly came to the awareness that someone was pulling on her leg. She woke with a start, very disoriented in the dark in an unfamiliar place, frightened witless. She didn’t take time to think. She fought back. **  
**

She kicked. She tried to roll. The more she fought, the more the intruder tried to pin her down. 

“Claire!”

She kicked harder and began screaming. It was only a matter of time before Uncle Lamb would be alerted and he would come running to her rescue…

“SASSENACH!”

She was pinned down by the shoulders by strong arms and her legs were held in place by dead weights. 

“Claire…it’s me…Jamie! Ye’re okay.”

She opened her eyes and focused on the face hovering above her, heaving in breaths to fill her lungs. 

She whispered, “Jamie?”

“Yes. It’s me. Ye were sound asleep in the chair downstairs. I brought ye up to bed and was just taking off yer boots so you could sleep a bit more comfortably. I wasn’t planning to attack ye. Are ye alright? I havenae hurt ye?”

He released her arms and got up off of her legs, moving to the side of the bed. “No, I’m fine. Just completely embarrassed.”

She heard a completely Scottish sound come from him, which she was becoming quite familiar with in less than a day. “I didnae want to pin ye down on the bed, but I saw no other way to keep ye from hurting yerself. Ye’re sure ye’er alright?”

“I’m fine. Truly. But thank you for seeing me to my room. I’ll just…well…”

There was an awkward pause.

“OH! Aye! I’ll just be goin’ tae my own room, then. I’m right next door to ye, if ye should need anything. Ye have fresh water on the wash stand and a chamber pot under the bed. The outhouse is straight out the back door.”

She nodded, finally becoming acclimated to the darkness of the room. 

With that, he backed out the door and shut it with a soft click. She heard his boots walk down the hallway and heard his door shut. 

She sat up on the side of the bed for a minute, her wits slowly coming back to her. She was so completely mortified, but there was truly nothing for it. Blowing out a deep breath, she finished removing her boots then stood to begin the process of undoing her dress. She managed just fine until she got to the corset. 

She always had a maid who saw to her laces. Even on the train, there was a chambermaid who helped her dress. It never once occurred to her that she’d be in a position to need to do this on her own. 

She struggled to get hold of the ties and yanked. It didn’t come undone. 

She yanked again. 

It wasn’t long before she realized she was in quite a fix. 

It was in a knot. And her tugging only made it worse. 

She sank back on the edge of her bed, trying to puzzle her way out of this predicament. She could cut the laces, but then she’d have no more laces and she’d be unable to wear her corset. And she had no knife. The corset was on too tight to shimmy it around to the side to work on the knot. 

She could only lay down on the bed as she was.

She fell back onto the bed, wrestling with the bed coverings. She collapsed, out of breath, onto the bed under the quilt when she was finally situated. 

It wasn’t long before she knew she would never be able to sleep in her corset. It was cutting into her waist. Tugging on it had only managed to tighten the laces. She could barely get a breath. 

There was nothing for it. She had to ask for help.

Sitting up, she tossed off the coverings and went in search of her robe. Throwing it on, she swallowed her pride, which was sorely hurting already, picked up her lit candle on the bedside table and opened her door. Padding in bare feet to Jamie’s door, she softly knocked.

She wasn’t prepared for what she saw when the door opened. Jamie was shirtless, his trousers slung low on his hips as if he had hastily donned them. 

“Claire. Is everything alright?”

She stared at his chest, softly covered in the same mix of reds and golds. The candlelight highlighted the deep grooves in his muscled abdomen. There wasn’t a spare ounce of fat on him. 

“Claire?”

She mentally shook herself. “I…I can’t seem to…”

She swallowed hard, lowered her head, and closed her eyes. “I need help with my laces.”

“Oh! I should’ve thought. Ye see, I’m not used to having a lady about. I do apologize. Here,” he opened the door and stepped aside, “Come in and I’ll undo them for ye.”

She looked around his room. It was sparse and lacked a feminine touch, as befitted a bachelor, but was well appointed with furniture. The bed was covered in a functional quilt and the bedside table had a lit gas lamp that had a hand-painted picture on the ornate globe. Beside it was a picture of a man and woman, who very closely resembled Jamie. 

He took her arm and led her over by the lamp. “Alright. Let’s see the laces.”

Claire turned her back to him and saw no help for it. She had to drop her robe. She had on her best sleeveless lace and muslin chemise under her corset. She felt him take the robe from her hands and place it on his bed where he sat down, drawing in a deep breath. 

He didn’t move for a minute. 

She nearly bolted from the room in mortification when she glanced over her shoulder at him and found staring at her bottom, mouth slightly open, eyes glazed over. Suddenly he blinked several times and apologized. 

He took hold of her hips and gently pulled her back between his legs so he could see better in the dim light. 

“Weel, it’s knotted alright. This might take some doing.”

He set to work. She felt his fingers work on the knot, tugging, pulling, and saying words that were totally unfamiliar to her in another language under his breath. Within a few minutes, he exclaimed, “Got it!”

She felt his fingers delicately slip under the laces and pull them free up her back, sending slight shivers up her spine. She pressed her hands to the front of the corset, holding her breath lest he hear her quickened, nervous panting. As he finally freed her from her bindings, she took a deep breath.

“I dinnae see why women wear these bindings. Surely they can’t be comfortable. Ye can hardly get a proper breath in them.”

Without thinking, she turned around and reached for her robe, her corset slipping down well below her breasts. She started to answer that they were a necessity if she was to get her bodice on, but was cut off by a sharp gasp coming out of Jamie. 

She quickly looked up at him and realized her grave error. 

His eyes were directed to her breasts, likely clearly seen through her sheer chemise. She was used to wearing a sturdy muslin chemise, not a delicate lacy chemise that was not practical for every day. She only wore it on a whim. 

Glancing down, she noticed her nipples were clearly showing through the sheer fabric. She quickly turned her back to him and threw on her robe and turned back to him. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

He blinked and shook his head, stunned..

She ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

She slammed her door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. What an absolute idiot she was! He would think she was some sort of…loose woman…or something! Tears came to her eyes. 

This was not going well at all. They seemed to get along so well. And then she went and mucked it all up doing something so stupid. 

She lay down on the bed, tossing her robe and corset into the chair, and let the tears fall silently down her face. She could hear Jamie next door pacing the floor, the planks creaking as he paced. It wasn’t long before she heard his boots hit the floor with two distinct thuds and heard the bed creak as he lowered himself onto it. She remarked to herself on the thinness of the walls. Or maybe it was just that there was no noise from the city streets that covered up the noises of the house creaking and settling in for the night. 

Lying awake, unable to fall asleep, she became attuned to the sounds of the night here in the country. She heard the sound of a cricket outside her window chirping. The far away sound of frogs croaking. She felt the breeze from the partially opened window. The quiet was nearly deafening. This was the quiet she longed for. 

But there was one more sound. She struggled to identify it. Tilting her head more toward the window, she listened closer. It was then that she realized that the sound was not coming from outside but on the other side of the wall. Frowning, she got to her knees and put her ear to the wall above the headboard. She heard a low moan. A gasp. The creaking of the bed. And a strangled groan. Then silence.

Deepening her frown, she sank back onto the bed, pulling up the quilt. Snuggling into the pillow, she was asleep within minutes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We left off with Claire having the devil of a time getting her corset off and Jamie having to help her out with it, leaving poor Jamie with a wee case of BBS (blue ball syndrome). This is a bit of a short chapter (sorry!) but I’ll try to get another chapter out this week (maybe even tomorrow) to make up for it.

Claire awoke with a start, realizing that she smelled breakfast cooking. Remembering that she wasn’t in her own bed, she quickly threw off the covers and bounded over to the wardrobe to get her clothes. Laying them out on the bed, she picked up the discarded corset, her mind flashing back to last night. 

And she realized she was in the same fix. There was no way she could manage her laces by herself. 

She sank back onto the bed. She knew she’d never get her bodice on without the corset. 

It was at that moment that she heard boots coming up the stairs. She quickly discarded her thin, lacy chemise and replaced it with the thicker, serviceable muslin chemise. As she was smoothing it all out and making sure that all her parts were decently covered, she heard a quiet knock on the door.

“Claire? Are ye awake? Breakfast is ready and I thought to see if ye…er…well…if ye needed any help?” He motioned in the general direction of her midsection.

She grinned inwardly at his awkwardness, but was grateful that he thought to check on her all the same. 

She opened the door and was met with a freshly-shaven and scrubbed face, skin nearly the same shade as his hair. 

“Good morning, Jamie. I could use a hand with my laces if you wouldn’t mind.”

She opened the door all the way and gestured for him to come inside. 

He stepped inside, keeping his eyes lowered, and followed her over to the bed. She got the corset into place and looked over her shoulder at him. “Alright. I’m ready.”

She heard what she was sure was a gulp. 

He pulled the laces tight at the top and gingerly moved down, trying his best not to touch her skin. She couldn’t help the grin that slowly spread on her face. She held on to the bedpost but found that he wasn’t pulling the laces nearly tight enough.

She was about ready to tell him when, he announced in an oddly higher-pitched voice, “There! All done!”

She looked down and watched her corset slowly slide 2 inches down.

“Er…Jamie…,” she turned around and looked up at him. His embarrassment was written all over his face. Red face, sweat beading on his brow, his eyes looking at anything but her.

“Jamie, it’s too loose.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didnae want tae hurt ye.”

“You won’t hurt me.” She turned back around and grabbed the bedpost again. “Given the situation, we’ll just have to make do with things as they are. It’s alright if you touch my back. I promise you won’t offend my tender sensibilities. And I promise I will tell you when you have them tight enough.”

He hesitated, then seeing no other way to do it, he hooked the laces on a finger and tugged. 

“Tighter.”

He tugged harder.

“Again.”

He frowned and tugged again. 

“Once more.”

He didn’t think there was any more room to tighten it when she let out a breath and he was able to pull the laces in another inch.

“Now keep going down the laces at that same tightness. I promise I’m fine. This is the only way my bodice will fasten.”

Finally having the hang of it, he quickly managed to get her laces done up and tied at the bottom. 

As she turned around to thank him, he was already nearly to the door, eyes again cast downward. 

“I’ll just be setting the table, then, if ye dinnae need me for anything else.”

“Thank you, Jamie. I’m sorry to be so much trouble.”

He glanced up without meaning to, and red flushed his face again clear to the tips of his ears. He curtly nodded and then left muttering again in that language that she didn’t recognize.

She saw to her morning ablutions, which were not as easily done with the corset already on, then quickly dressed in a light sprigged muslin day dress that she could easily fasten herself. As she sat in front of the mirror to brush her hair, she began to puzzle out a way to avoid having to have Jamie tie her laces each morning. She truly couldn’t think of any other way to go about it, other than to go to a dressmaker and ask for advice.

Finishing up, she quickly tidied up her room and set everything to rights, then made her way down the stairs. Jamie had placed everything on the table and was pulling out a chair to sit down when he saw her. 

“Ah. Just in time.” He moved to pull out her chair and motioned for her to sit. 

“It smells wonderful.”

“It’s a simple meal. I hope ye like porridge. It’s what I usually eat every morning, but I can fix ye something else if ye dinnae care for it.”

“No, no! This is fine.” They ate in silence, but knew that the elephant in the room needed to be addressed.

“Claire…”

“Jamie, I…”

They laughed nervously and looked at each other. “Ye go first, Claire.”

“Alright. Jamie, I think that if I’m to stay here more permanently, I’m going to need to buy some more suitable clothing. I have plenty of money, so you need not worry about that, but I would like to ask if it would be too much trouble for you to take me into town where I might see a dressmaker and purchase some things so that you wouldn’t have to play my maid each day.”

Jamie laughed. “Sassenach, I was about to suggest the same thing. While I dinnae mind playing the lady’s maid, I dinnae want to ruin yer reputation.”

He cleared his throat. He blinked a few times, then, “Claire, I was wonderin’ if ye’d given any thought to stayin’? I ken that we’ve only just met, but if ye were considerin’ it, I would like to see us married as soon as possible so that things are legal-like. That, and I dinnae want the townsfolk to gossip about ye.”

Claire swallowed the last bite of her porridge. So there it was. The elephant. 

“Well,” she sighed, “I suppose we will need to solve this rather quickly. You are right. What do you propose, then?”

“Weel, I didnae sleep very well last night, so I had time to give it some thought. I ken enough to believe that ye are a good woman and that we get along fine. I also ken that ye have a lot to learn about living here. I thought maybe, if ye were willing that is, we could be married in a quick ceremony. My brother and his wife would be there, of course. From there, I wouldnae make any demands upon ye as a wife until ye were ready.”

“Wait,” Claire interrupted, “what do you mean by ‘demands’?”

Jamie colored. “Weel, ye know,” he motioned vaguely with his hand. “The bedding and such. It just doesnae seem right to bed a stranger, ye ken. We could get better acquainted. If it truly didnae work out, I could ask Father Bain for an annulment. Of course, I would rather no’ have to do that, but if ye felt it was necessary later, I’d agree to it. Ye could learn what you needed to from my brother’s wife, Mary. And I’d help ye, too.”

He took a deep breath, “Ye are a bonny woman, Claire. I’d be proud if ye’d do me the honor.”

Claire knew she should think this through further, but before her brain managed to process a thought, her mouth opened and blurted out, “Alright.”

Jamie blinked again and seemed a bit surprised.

“Ye will?”

“I have no idea if I’m at all doing the proper thing, but I think we could rub along just fine together, Jamie. I’m not afraid to work hard and learn all that I need to to make you a good wife and helper here on the farm. In fact, I look forward to it. So, yes…I’d be pleased to be your wife. If I can be frank, I just feel that this is right. I can’t at all explain it. It’s like I’m supposed to be here. With you.”

He smiled at that and reached for her hand. “If honesty is what yer after, then I’ll confess the same. I dinnae ken what it is, but like ye said, this feels right. 

“Will and Mary are going to visit soon. Mary wanted to bring lunch and meet ye properly. Maybe we could go into town and see if Father Bain would be willing to do the ceremony tomorrow.”

This was all moving so fast, but Claire couldn’t find it in her to say no. She nodded and he squeezed her hand.

“And maybe we can see the dressmaker to find ye something better suited to the farm.”

Claire laughed at that. “I dare say that might make things more comfortable around here.”

Jamie let out an amused hmph, scooting his chair back. “If ye want to see to the dishes, I’ll go out and see to the animals. 

**********

Claire cleaned the dishes and set the house to rights. She even ventured out in the back to collect some daisies that grew in the prairie grass to arrange in the vase on the table. She looked around the kitchen and parlor, familiarizing herself with things. She noticed that most of the furniture appeared to be handmade. She wondered to herself if Jamie had made them. Everything was clean and well-cared for but lacked a feminine touch, all of which would be easily remedied. She could have her things shipped here and the rest could be sold by Uncle Lamb’s lawyer. 

It would do.

She set the table for four for lunch and ventured upstairs to her room. As she reached the door, she hesitated, curiosity taking over. She walked quietly over to Jamie’s room and eased the door open. In the light of day, it was much the same as it was last night. The bed was made. Things were tidy. There was no need for her to do anything in there so she quietly eased the door shut. The only remaining room was on the opposite side of the hallway. It was a smaller room and only held a few small pieces of furniture. 

A rocking chair and a cradle. 

“Claire, what are ye doin’?”

She nearly jumped out of her skin. Jamie was standing at the top of the stairs, frowning at her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It’s a mid-week update! I am loving all the great comments that this story is receiving. Thanks SO much for reading! So many great questions, too, all of which will be answered. Some in the next chapter, some along the way after that. Stay tuned! After all, this is J&C…y’all know how they always end up. lol!
> 
> So that leaves us with Claire being caught red-handed in a room that held a cradle and a rocking chair. On with the story…..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Several have remarked upon how quickly the marriage is happening. In the old west (think pretty much anything west of the Mississippi), women were not plentiful. In fact, most men headed west to make their fortune in some way or other, lured by the promise of land in the land rushes when Indian Territory was opened for purchase. Our own land was part of that just prior to the Civil War (we have the original deed that shows that…it’s interesting to look at). 
> 
> As men settled their acreage, they often sent for wives in the East who were looking to escape the city life (or their families) or who were considered “old maids” or widows in their mid to late 20′s. These marriages of convenience were often business arrangements, rather than love matches. The men offered them marriage and homes. The women offered them help on the farm and someone to do the cooking and cleaning. And to be honest, they offered them the chance to start a family and provide more help around the farm. 
> 
> Things usually moved rather quickly because, even in those times on the frontier, scandal was still scandal. It wasn’t seemly to shack up with someone. Many “mail order brides” met their husbands for the first time at the alter.

Claire put a hand to her heart that was beating right out of her chest. “Jamie! You startled me!” **  
**

“I’m sorry. I was just calling ye. Ye didnae answer. Will and Mary are here.”

“Oh. I was just…just…well, I was just tidying things up and looking around the house. I didn’t mean to intrude on your privacy.”

“I have nothin’ tae hide, Sassenach. Come on down and meet my brother and his wife.”

Nothing to hide, eh? Claire couldn’t guess what the cradle and rocking chair were for, but she sensed now wasn’t the right time to get into it. 

Downstairs, Jamie introduced Will and Mary to Claire, shaking each hand in turn.

“I am so pleased to finally meet ye, Claire! It will be sae nice to finally have another female to talk to. I hope ye are thinkin’ of stayin’ on here. Jamie hinted that ye might be,” Mary said as she started unpacking the basket of food she brought.

“Jamie and I have reached an understanding, yes. I believe I will stay.”

“Why, that’s wonderful! Will ye be speakin’ to Father Bain today, then?” Will certainly didn’t beat around the bush.

Jamie spoke before Claire could say anything. “Now, Will, ye can keep yer neb outta matters. Dinnae be…”

Will interrupted, “Jamie, ye ken the townsfolk talk. Ye cannae be keepin’ her here unchaperoned. It isn’t fittin’.”

Claire stepped between the two before it came to blows. “Jamie has been the perfect gentleman. We discussed matters last night and we plan to speak with Father Bain today. We are hoping he will agree to marry us tomorrow. Normally, I would never agree to such a fast ceremony but…well…things are a bit different here. And I’m alone in the world. I wanted out of Boston and longed for a simpler, quieter life. This really seems ideal.”

“And do ye love him?” She’d never met a more direct man than Will Fraser.

“Well, no, but we do seem to rub along well enough. I enjoy talking to him. I agree things are a bit like putting the cart before the horse, but we have plenty of time to get to know each other. Maybe with time…”

Mary interrupted, seeing Claire’s discomfort. “Weel, I believe we should all just forget all this and sit down to eat before the meal gets cold.” 

Will rubbed his neck, coloring. “I apologize, Claire. I didnae mean to embarrass ye. Jamie is my only brother, ye ken. I want to see him happy. Like Mary and I. He deserves a loving wife and family. I ken how lonely he’s been, but I just worry…”

Claire placed a hand on his arm. “I completely understand. I give you my promise. I will do my best to be all those things to him. It will just take some time. Let us get to know each other a bit better. Believe me, I want all those things, too. Until I can be…well, ‘more’ to him, we can be good friends and we can be helpmates.”

Jamie, who had been quiet up to this point, looked at Claire and smiled gently. He put his hand lightly on her back and guided her to a chair. “Let’s eat before Mary starts to throw those daggers at ya, Will, that she’s glaring at ye with.”

Will grabbed Mary around the waist and she leaned away from him, swatting his arm. “Ah Mary. She’d never throw daggers at me. She loves me too much, especially after what I did to her this morning.”

Mary gasped and hit his arm, her face blushing a brilliant shade of red. “Will Fraser! Ye shouldnae speak of such things!”

Will kissed Mary on the cheek and whispered in her ear. Claire didn’t think it was possible to be a brighter shade of red, but Mary achieved it. Mary giggled and shoved him away.

“Stop teasin’ me, ye auld fool! Sit down sae we can eat.”

Claire couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. Jamie glanced at her, grinning and shaking his head. 

Everyone settled into their chairs and Jamie quickly said grace. Dishes began to be passed around. Smoked ham, buttery potatoes, fresh snapped green beans, warm bread with strawberry jam, followed by fresh apple pie for dessert. They ate to the point of being stuffed, while carrying on a jovial conversation. 

Claire couldn’t help but notice how close the two brothers were. It didn’t take long to get the measure of them. Will loved to tease. Jamie was a good target, but also gave back what he got. Mary took on the role of referee. She had never realized just how much she missed out on in life until this exact moment. She had never really had a “family” as such. She was fascinated by it and craved it all at the same time. 

As the meal was finished, Claire helped Mary clean up and pack her things back into the basket. She left Claire with several jars of her strawberry jam and a fresh loaf of bread. “We are just down the path a little ways. Ye can see our farm from here. If ye ever need anything…anything at all…ye just come over. I look forward to having ye as a sister. It will be nice to finally have someone to help me referee over these two big gobs.” Claire laughed and hugged Mary.

“Thank you for the lovely meal. It was wonderful. I would love to visit and start learning how to go about things. Maybe you could teach me how to cook? Uncle Lamb and I always had a kitchen maid to cook. I’m afraid I’m only good for boiling water for tea.”

“Ye dinnae ken how tae cook?” Mary’s eyes widened. “Weel. Alright. We can work on that. Until ye figure it out, I’ll just continue fixing meals like I have been. Jamie has always done his own porridge for breakfast, but he came over to our house for the other meals. We always have plenty. Ye can come a bit early and help me fix it until yer comfortable on yer own.”

“That sounds lovely. I am so grateful for your help.”

Will walked over to them and took the basket from Mary. “Let’s be on our way, then, so these two can go to town. We’ll see ye tomorrow.”

As they left, Jamie said, “I’m sorry about Will being so direct wi’ ye. He means weel. He’s always been a typical big brother to my sister, Jenny, and I. He’s overprotective one minute and teases me to madness the next.”

Claire smiled. She told Jamie of how she had no family to speak of and how much she enjoyed having some notion of a family once she married him. How she was not at all offended by his love for his younger brother. How she craved the idea of having a family. How much she looked forward to spending time with Mary, learning all the things she needed to know to run a house. 

Soon enough, it was time to head into town to speak with Father Bain. Jamie explained the situation to him and their intention to wed tomorrow if possible. Father Bain, having adapted to life on the frontier, had agreed to the quickness of the wedding…something he never would have agreed to in a civilized city. A time was agreed upon and arrangements were made.

Jamie dropped Claire off at the dressmaker, in order to run a few errands himself at the general store and the blacksmith’s shop. He promised to return in 30 minutes to pick her up. 

The dressmaker, Mrs. Fitzgibbons, took her measurements and remarked upon her nice figure. Claire had never really thought of her figure as particularly lovely, but undergarments hid a wealth of things underneath. She told Mrs. Fitzgibbons of her problem with her current corset, leaving out the part that she had to have Jamie help her with it. Mrs. Fitzgibbons showed her several options that would work suitably that laced up in the front. The only issue being that Claire would need to have looser fitting clothes to accommodate for that. Mrs. Fitzgibbons explained how the local wives were generally more casual in their dress on the frontier, choosing looser, lighter-weight garments that were more serviceable for work on the farm. She showed Claire several ginghams and calicos that would work nicely. 

To begin with, Claire chose two ready-made dresses and had the rest made for her. As she was looking through some lightweight petticoats, Jamie came in, having finished with his errands. 

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Fitzgibbons. How are ye?”

“I’m fine. How can I help you, Mr. Fraser?”

“I’m just here to pick up my fiancee,” he replied, motioning to Claire.

“Fiancee?! Why, I had no idea you were courting anyone!”

Jamie shrugged, “I didnae want anyone to steal her from me.”

Mrs. Fitzgibbons laughed and continued wrapping up the purchases Claire had made. He walked over to Claire and inquired if she had found all she needed. “I did. I think I’m all set.”

She was fingering a lovely blue bonnet that was sprigged with beautiful flowers and lace that Claire absolutely coveted. But given that her wardrobe was supposed to be less formal, she decided to pass it up. She ran her fingers down the ribbons that trailed from the bonnet and with a sigh, walked back to the counter to pay for her purchases. Jamie helped her carry them out to the carriage. As Claire was settling in, she noticed that she was missing a box. 

“I’ll go get it, Claire. Just stay there,” and he ran back into the shop. 

Five minutes had passed and Claire was beginning to wonder what had happened. Suddenly Jamie came bounding out the door and got into the carriage, carrying the package.

“What happened? You took quite a long time to just get a small package.”

“Oh nothing, Sassenach. I was just chatting with Mrs. Fitzgibbons. She does like to chat, ye ken,” he said, brushing it off.

Finally, they pulled up to the Oxford Hotel. 

“What are we doing here?”

Jamie smiled at Claire. “I wanted to court ye at least one time properly before we wed. I arranged a nice dinner for us tonight.”

“Oh! How lovely!” Jamie came around and helped Claire out of the carriage and escorted her inside. They were seated at a lavishly set table with fancy china and crystal. The waiter served them red wine and a luxurious meal. They conversed easily about their day and other things. 

“James?”

They looked up and were greeted by a slim, richly dressed, brunette-haired woman with clear ivory skin. 

“Geneva? What are ye doing here?”

She ignored his question. “Who is this, then?”

“Claire, this is Geneva Dunsany. Geneva, this is Claire Beauchamp, my fiancee.”

Geneva blinked at Jamie and then raised a perfect eyebrow. “Fiancee, you say? Well. I daresay that you’ve certainly moved on fast enough.”

Claire’s jaw dropped at that. She looked at Jamie, astonished.

“Geneva, if ye’ll excuse us, we have to be getting home before dark.

Jamie rose, took Claire by the arm and ushered her quickly out of the hotel, leaving Geneva behind fuming at the snub. 

“Jamie, what in the world was all that about in there?”

“Claire, we need to talk.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We left off with our couple going out for a nice supper date on the eve of their wedding, where they got to know each other better. And then they were interrupted by none other than Geneva Dunsany, the troll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said Saturday would be the day for the update. Well, life got in the way and I did yard work instead while the weather was nice. Sorry!

Jamie handed Claire into the carriage, then ran around to get in himself. He sat there for a minute, then took a deep breath. Claire waited with bated breath. **  
**

“That Geneva is a troublemaker, Claire. She’s been after me for a year, trying to get me cornered into marrying her. She follows me everywhere. She ‘accidentally’ shows up where I do. There was even once that I caught her out on the farm looking in the window of the house when I was out at the barn seeing to a mare that was giving birth. Claire, it was ten o’clock at night! She had no business at my home!”

Claire frowned. That certainly wasn’t what she was expecting to hear. “Have you ever contacted the…do you even HAVE police here?”

“Aye, we have a sheriff’s deputy and the marshal travels through on the regular. But I havenae turned her in. She’s only been bothersome and never breaks the law in doing it.”

“Well, then, have you spoken to her father?”

Jamie laughed at that, then shook his head. “Her father thinks his precious daughter can do no wrong. I spoke to him once and realized I would get nowhere with that sure enough.”

“So you aren’t promised to her or were courting her?”

“Nae! Never!”

“And while we’re at it, the cradle and rocking chair in the bedroom at the house. Does that have anything to do with another wife or something else you’re hiding from me?”

Jamie blinked and frowned, “No! Claire! That’s no’ it at all! Those are for Mary. They just found out that she’s in the family way a month ago. I made those for Will to give her.”

“So there truly aren’t any other women? No one else?”

“No. There’s just, weel, you.”

The furrowed brow on Claire’s forehead smoothed instantly and she breathed easier. 

It was then that they heard the hotel door open and slam closed. Geneva was fast moving in their direction. “Follow my lead, alright?”

Jamie frowned, but nodded. 

Claire grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him. It wasn’t a peck, nor was it a chaste kiss. Those were the only kisses Claire was even somewhat familiar with. She moved purely on instinct this time. She leaned into Jamie and threw her arms around his neck. She knew he was completely stunned as he didn’t move for a bit. 

And then he did. 

He reached for her waist and pulled her further in toward him. He angled his head and his breathing changed. It was faster. She could feel the beat of his pulse beating rapidly against her arm around his neck. Then without even thinking, she slightly opened her mouth to him. The barest hint of opening. His tongue licked her mouth. It was the oddest thing. She’d never experienced it (and frankly thought it was revolting when she’d heard of it as a girl, giggling in the school yard), but it wasn’t revolting at all. They both gasped and couldn’t help the shiver that ran down her spine from the electricity that bolted between them. He gingerly touched his tongue to hers and the world seemed to spin out from underneath her. Had she not been sitting, securely in his arms, she surely would have swooned. Jamie pulled away, leaning his forehead to hers.

“Oh god, Claire…,” he whispered, his chest heaving.

It was then that they heard it. The screech that emitted from Geneva wasn’t too far off from a spoiled child having a temper tantrum in public. She stomped down the boardwalk and into the street to where the carriage was parked. 

“James Fraser! Why I NEVER! How DARE you! You are mine. You and I were to be wed!”

It was then that Claire had had enough. 

She calmly said to Jamie, “Excuse me.”

She jumped down from the carriage onto the street in front of Geneva. She found, to her vast satisfaction, that she was nearly a head taller than Geneva. She usually cursed her tallness, but today, she was ever so glad for it. 

She had years of practice in the school yard, practicing on her nemesis, Nelly. Claire channeled her school girl self and said in a quiet, deadly voice that she had honed through the years, “I don’t know WHO you think you are, Miss Dunsany, but how dare YOU?! How dare you lie and insinuate that MY fiance has been less than honorable. How dare you act as if he is your’s. He has never encouraged you. He has never mentioned marriage to you. In fact, if what I heard is true, you were caught red-handed stalking him at his house. I daresay that the sheriff would have something to say to that, if we chose to pursue that.” Anyone that had happened upon the conversation, would have sworn from a distance that it was a pleasant discourse, given the smile plastered on Claire’s face. But Jamie knew it was anything but pleasant.

Geneva’s jaw dropped, but Claire wasn’t done with her.

“You see, Jamie will be MY husband tomorrow. MINE. If I ever catch sight of you bothering him ever again, the sheriff WILL be notified of that.”

Geneva leaned back and lifted a hand to slap at Claire. But her guardian angel was with her and she was able to catch Geneva’s wrist before she could make contact. 

Claire said in a deadly voice, “Don’t ever raise a hand to me, either.” She pushed Geneva’s hand away sharply, lifted her skirts, then got into the carriage.

“Good day, Miss Dunsany,” Claire said pleasantly.

Claire patted a gloved hand on a very stunned Jamie’s knee and said, “Let’s be off now, dear.”

The horses trotted off. Jamie’s face was tight and beginning to color. Claire was very afraid she had made a grave error. As she searched his face, she could see he was struggling. But she wasn’t at all sure why. 

The minute they were outside of town, Jamie pulled the horses to a halt and bent over, gasping with laughter. It was Claire’s turn to be stunned. She watched as he struggled to catch breath, holding his stomach, while wiping the tears running down his cheeks. It wasn’t long before Claire snorted and joined him. 

They laughed until Jamie begged her to cease. His stomach hurt and was very afraid that that very expensive steak would make a reappearance. Claire wiped her eyes with her hankie, taking in deep breaths.

“Where in the devil did ye learn how tae dress down a she-devil like her in less than 2 minutes?”

“Well, you see, there was this girl named Nelly. She very much reminded me of Geneva Dunsany. She was the very bane of my schoolgirl existence. She made fun of me and was very mean. She was also a very, very spoiled rich girl. Uncle Lamb taught me how to fight back with my words and wit. We went at each other for years until she was shipped off to a boarding school. I got rather good at it,” she shrugged.

“I see. Weel then,” he shook his head, mirth still bubbling up. “I am sorry that ye had such troubles, but I am nae sorry that ye learned how to unleash yer own inner she-devil so well.” 

He grinned, snapped the reins to start the horses back onto the path home, and took her hand with his free hand. “That was incredible back there, ye ken?”

“Oh. Well thank you. I don’t often channel my inner she-devil.”

Jamie squeezed her hand. “I wasnae talking about that.”

**********

Claire blinked her eyes as the glare from the rising sun woke her up. She sat up slowly in bed, her first thought being that today was her wedding day. From this day on, she’d be Mrs. Fraser. She marveled at that. Things had moved so much quicker than she truly meant for them to, but she had to admit that it didn’t seem to bother her. She didn’t know quite how or why, but this felt…right. Pushing her unruly black curls out of her face, she moved her legs out from under the covers and stood up, stretching. 

Her mind wandered back to yesterday, when she kissed Jamie. Had she been having a true wedding, tonight would be her wedding night. She couldn’t dismiss the feelings that she had been developing for Jamie in such a short time. But she was sure he wouldn’t be coming to her room tonight. She knew he intended to move slowly and get to know her better. And he was right, after all. 

She was roused from her reverie with a soft knock at the door. “Claire? Are ye awake?” It was Mary. 

**********

Mary helped Claire bathe, wash, dry and style her hair, and helped her dress. Claire had had the good luck to find a wedding dress at the dressmaker’s shop that had been commissioned, but was never claimed. It was way too extravagant for frontier life and the Mrs. Fitzgibbons had feared that she’d never be able to sell it. She offered it to Claire at a considerable discount. It had fit to perfection, even if it was a wee bit too short. The full ivory silk skirt was lavishly embroidered, with dropped shoulders that led to a deeply cut v-neck bodice. The delicate small capped sleeves perfectly accentuated Claire’s figure. 

When Mary was finished, she stood back and sighed deeply. “Ah Claire! Ye are a true beauty!” She turned Claire to face the mirror, then stepped back to admire her. “If only I had some orange blossoms for my hair,” Claire lamented.

“Weel, as to that…hold on one minute.” Mary hurried out the door and returned with a box.

“This is from Jamie. He said to give it to ye before ye left. I think it might be just what ye need to finish yer bridal gown off perfectly.”

Claire took the box, untied the string and removed the lid. It was the blue bonnet that she had been admiring at Mrs. Fitzgibbon’s shop. So that was what took him so long that day. He must’ve seen her looking at the bonnet and went back to get it along with her missing box. 

A wide grin broke out on her face. She took the bonnet out and Mary helped her tie it on. 

“This gives you new and blue. Now, ye just need old and borrowed. And that’s what I have for ye!”

Mary pulled a worn velvet pouch out of her pocket. “These belonged to Will and Jamie’s mam. She gave them to me on our wedding day. I think she’d be pleased tae see both wives of her sons wear them on their wedding days.”

Mary took out the pretty blue sapphire necklace and fastened it to Claire’s neck. It sparkled in the morning light and was just dazzling. 

“One last thing. Will wanted ye tae have this.” She handed her a penny. “Ye put it in yer shoe for good luck, ye ken.”

“Well, that’s me sorted, then. Thank you so much for everything, Mary.” Claire hugged Mary, who was sniffling. 

“Mercy sakes. I weep at everything of late,” Mary laughed, wiping her eyes with her hankie. “Dinnae mind me. Now, we need to get downstairs. The men should be ready to go.”

As Claire descended the stairs, she wasn’t truly prepared for what she’d find. Down in the parlor waiting were the Fraser brothers. Both were wearing the Fraser plaid, dressed in true Highlander regalia. 

“It does quite take yer breath away, tae see a Highlander dressed in their regalia,” Mary whispered in her ear. Claire nodded slowly, eyes drawn to her husband-to-be. It did at that. 

Will turned then and let out a low whistle. “And here is yer bride, brother!” He walked over to Claire and took her hand, giving it a kiss. “Ye are a true vision tae behold.”

“Thank you, Will.”

Then he turned to Mary and grabbed her about the waist, giving her a smack on the lips, “But nothing like the beauty that is my wife!” He covered her face and neck with smacking kisses, as Mary squealed. 

Jamie laughed. “Claire, ye are beautiful,” and took her hand. “I picked these for ye this morning. I thought ye’d like to have them to carry down the aisle.” He handed her a lovely nosegay of wild prairie flowers, tied with a blue ribbon. “I see Mary gave ye my gift. Do ye like it?”

“Oh, Jamie, I do. I had no idea that’s what you were doing in the shop that day when I sent you back in to get my missing box.” 

“Weel, I can be sneaky when I need tae be,” he smiled.

Will broke in, “We better be heading tae town then, if we are tae be at the church on time.”

**********

Jamie and Claire were duly married by Father Bain in a quiet ceremony, attended by Will and Mary as witnesses. When Father Bain asked if there were any opposed to the proceedings, no one was present to object. 

“Then I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

Jamie leaned over and gave Claire a chaste kiss on the lips. 

At that very moment, the doors burst open with a loud bang. “I object!”

It was Geneva Dunsany.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We left Jamie and Claire at the altar, when Geneva burst in to oppose the marriage. Was she too late?

Father Bain, clearly confused, asked, “And what is this all about?” **  
**

Geneva stomped up the aisle. “James Fraser was promised to me. Not that…that trollop!” She looked Claire up and down with clear distaste in her eyes.

Claire glanced at Jamie, noticing his dropped jaw. “I was never promised to ye, Geneva Dunsany and ye ken it well!” 

Geneva huffed. “Well, it may not have been set in stone, but you knew I was hoping for a match with you. You just didn’t get around to asking.”

“I wasnae GOING to ask! Ye, with yer wily ways and conniving to get my attention. I would nae more ask ye to marry me than…”

Father Bain broke in before the conversation became too heated in a house of God. “Miss Dunsany, I am not sure what you have cooked up in that mind of yours, but I do believe that Mr. Fraser here is not amenable to your attentions. In fact, I’ve seen some things that have truly troubled me. Your ways are unseemly.”

Geneva shrieked, “You judge me unseemly?! How dare you! I…”

Will broke in this time. “I think it’s high time we dealt with this.” He hauled Geneva up over his shoulder. She squirmed, hit, and screamed to be released but Will was stronger and gave her a firm swat on her arse.

“Ye haud yer wheesht or there will be more where that came from!” and manhandled her out of the church.

Before Claire could swallow it back, a very clear, unladylike snort emitted from her. Father Bain looked at her, eyes wide, his lip twitching up at the corners ever so slightly. Mary, standing behind her, gave off a little giggle. 

And the floodgates let loose. 

Gales of laughter filled the church. Claire whooped until she couldn’t catch her breath. Mary was doubled over, holding on to Claire, wiping her eyes with her delicately embroidered handkerchief. Jamie and Father Bain were staring at them, faces full of astonishment, with slow smiles taking over until they had joined in the merriment, too. 

When Claire finally got herself under control, she apologized to Father Bain. “Father, I am dreadfully sorry for my outburst. I do apologize.”

Father Bain’s voice was filled with laughter. “Think nothing of it. I have been meaning to speak to Mr. Dunsany for some time now about his daughter. I’ve seen some of the things she has been doing here around town, all of which I’m quite sure her father has no idea of. She has quite the reputation with the shopkeepers for being unforgivably rude. She has been throwing herself at gentlemen, and not just Mr. Fraser here.” He finished in a hushed voice, “I think she’s…unbalanced.”

“Weel, I think she’s a spoilt brat! Pardon me, Father,” Jamie threw in.

“Father Bain, if ye’re done with the proceedin’s, I would like to be off. We have a surprise for the newlyweds waiting ye see…”

“Oh! Yes, please. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Fraser.” He shook Jamie’s hand.

“Thank ye, Father.”

Jamie took Claire’s arm in his and walked her out to the carriage.

Mary said, “Now for yer surprise! I’ll meet ye over at the Oxford Hotel. Will and I have things all arranged!” She took off before Jamie or Claire could even say a word.

**********

The newlyweds walked into the Oxford Hotel to find a lovely wedding party assembled. A meal was set, cake was served and many guests were in attendance. Jamie had proudly introduced them all to Claire, his new wife. No one asked about never having seen her around town before. No one mentioned the quickness of the marriage. All seemed genuinely happy for the couple. 

Will appeared after nearly an hour. He told of speaking to Mr. Dunsany, while Geneva shrieked and threw a fit of temper. When her father had been told the whole of the story, including her peeking into Jamie’s windows at night, he was horrified. He had Geneva removed to her rooms and spoke of sending her back to England to live with relatives. He profusely apologized for her behavior and had offered to make reparations with the Frasers. Will assured Jamie that he turned that offer down and also would be certain that Geneva was on the next train out of town.

As the day wore on, the crowd thinned out. Claire, who was visiting with Mrs. Fitzgibbons, felt a hand on her arm. “Claire, I think we should be going now? I need to get on back to the farm to do chores before dark.”

Will, overhearing, spouted off, “Oh, we ALL ken brother! Ye should get yer new bride home and see to those ‘chores’!” He motioned the quotation marks with his fingers.

Jamie handily reached over and smacked his brother behind the head as Will laughed and covered his head with both arms. They went back and forth with each other, switching over to that language that Claire didn’t understand. Claire had no idea what it was they said to each other, but Claire could tell that Will was teasing Jamie mercilessly and Jamie was clearly embarrassed by it. 

Mary put her arm around Claire, “Sister, dear, we’ll leave them to it. I wanted to speak with ye quickly before ye left.”

Mary pulled her to a quiet corner down the hall. She cleared her throat a few times, then blurted out, “Do ye have any questions, Claire? I mean, about when ye get home?”

Claire, nonplussed, asked, “Why, whatever do you mean?”

“Ye ken!” Mary waved her hand vaguely. “About…what…ye ken…yer weddin’ night!”

“Oh!”

“Yes. That. I ken ye dinnae have a mother or older sister to help ye with these things and I consider it my duty to help ye. In that way. Ken?” Mary plainly was not comfortable speaking about things between a man and wife, but soldiered on bravely enough. “If ye want me tae tell ye what tae expect, I can.”

“I see.”

There was a bit of an awkward silence. Finally Claire managed to come up with a reasonable answer, knowing that she was not going to be having that wedding night. “Do you suppose Jamie would be knowledgeable about the proceedings?”

“Oh, I’m sure he is. He’s a kind soul, our Jamie. He wouldnae ever hurt ye. I have nae doubt that he would ken what tae do.”

“Well then. I suppose I’ll learn as we go along.” Claire took Mary’s hands. “But I do promise to ask you if I have any questions later.”

Releasing a huge sigh of relief, Mary hugged her new sister by marriage. “I do wish ye the best, Claire! And as soon as yer ready, ye come on down to our place and we’ll start yer lessons on cooking.”

“I look forward to it.”

Jamie and Will came down the hall, still ribbing each other in that foreign language. Mary clearly comprehended what they said because she colored and chuckled.

“Stop that, ye twa numpties! Jamie, ye should be taking yer bride home and I’ll see to gettin’ this eejit of mine home.”

Will came over to Claire and took her in a warm hug. “I am glad tae have ye in the family. Ye take good care of my little brother, here.”

“I will. Thank you both for the lovely reception. It was truly a very nice day.”

Jamie hugged Mary and Will, thanking them both as well. “Let’s be off now, wife.” He took her arm and smiled, ushering her out the door.

**********

When they arrived at the farm, Jamie quickly saw to the few chores that needed tending and came back in to find Claire in the parlor. 

“Weel, all is set out in the barn. Willow, one of my mares is about to foal, so I do have to keep an eye on her, but all else is done.” The sun was sinking low into the sky outside. “Would ye care tae take a wee evening stroll? I often enjoy watching the sunset. I like tae watch the colors change in the sky. It’s a beautiful sight.”

Claire rose from her chair. “That sounds lovely. I, too, enjoy watching the sun set in the sky.”

Jamie saw her smooth out her beautiful wedding dress. “I ken ye’re still wearing yer bridal gown. We won’t go far. I’ll see tae it that ye dinnae spoil yer dress.” He offered his arm, an act that Claire was starting to enjoy very much.

They slowly strolled along a trail to the west, making their way over to a tree randomly located on the usually treeless prairie. Underneath it was located a bench. Jamie took out a large cloth and spread it on the bench for Claire to sit upon. “So ye dinnae muss yer gown,” he said with a smile. 

They sat in comfortable silence watching the sky change like watercolors running together on a canvas. Pinks moving to peaches and darker oranges before deeper blues and purples took over. Birds floated about, finding places to roost for the night. A soft, gentle breeze cooled off an otherwise extremely warm day. Claire felt Jamie’s arm settle around her on the back of the chair. She glanced over to see him looking the opposite way. She took a minute to secretly admire his profile. He was truly an extraordinary looking man. She considered herself extremely lucky to have found Jamie Fraser. She truly wasn’t one to judge one on their looks, but instead chose to look inside them for the person that they were. But in this far from ordinary case, having a handsome husband helped. 

He looked back at Claire, noticing her studying him, and smiled. “I ken this isn’t likely what ye thought of for a proper weddin’ day, Claire, and I’m sorry for it. But I did make ye a promise. I won’t do anything ye are’na ready for. We can go slowly. No one else need ken, not even Mary or Will, damn his hide.”

“No, it probably isn’t much of what I pictured. But it was truly lovely all the same. I had a wonderful time at the reception.” She gestured to the deep lavender sky before them, “This is quite lovely, too. I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening.”

“Sassenach, I ken that we willna be sharing a bed this night, but would ye maybe consent tae…,” he took a deep breath. “I very much would like tae kiss ye, Claire. May I?”

His clear blue eyes, darkened in the waning light of the sunset, pierced hers. She whispered barely loud enough to be heard, “Yes.”

His arm lowered from the back of the bench to surround her shoulders and gently pulled her closer to him. His free hand reached up and tenderly pushed a loose curl back behind her ear. “ _Mo nighean donn_ ,” he whispered softly.

“What does that mean? I don’t recognize that language.”

“It’s just Gaelic. It means ‘my brown-haired lass’.”

His fingers swept down her cheek and brought her chin to his. He touched his lips to hers and kissed her. While it wasn’t their first kiss, it felt like it was. She moved her arms from her lap to settle lightly on his shoulders. Encouraged, he deepened the kiss. Claire didn’t know how long they kissed. It could have been 5 minutes…it could have been an hour. 

They were startled by voices in the distance. Jamie pulled back, motioning for her to keep quiet and listened. It was clearly a crowd of people, laughing softly and shushing each other, occasionally making out the words “be quiet!” and “you don’t want them to hear us coming!”

Claire looked sharply back to Jamie, who was grinning. She whispered, “What’s going on?”

He softly chuckled, “Claire, we’re about tae be chivareed.”

“Wot?”

He squeezed her shoulders and laughed under his breath. “Chivareed. They mean nae harm. It’s just neighbors and friends that come along beating on pots and pans, raisin’ a stramash to interrupt the newlyweds who are trying to get about their weddin’ night business. Listen.”

Soon the silence of the darkness was broken by whooping and loud, bawdy singing, accompanied by the banging of pots and pans. They heard drunken shouts of:

“Jamie, ol’ boy, have ya done the deed?”

“Are ye worn out yet, Jamieeeeee?”

“She willna be able to walk for days!”

“She? What about him?” That, followed by loud guffaws of laughter. 

Jamie took her hand and motioned for her to quietly follow him. They snuck back behind the shrubs near the barn and crouched down, watching the merrymakers. She clearly made out Will and Mary and several others, all dressed in dark colors, that had attended their reception earlier that day. They banged on wash pans with metal ladles. They scraped washboards with spoons. They sang bits and pieces of bawdy songs that they never seemed to quite finish due to the laughter. Then she saw Will walk up to the front door and banged on it. 

“Jamieeeeeeee!!! What’cha doin’ in there, ye wee dunderheid?” 

Soon, it became apparent that the party realized that no one was at home. 

Will shouted, “Why that cunning wee numpty! He kent we were coming and took his bride off somewhere!” Will opened the door and soon, the party had flooded into the house. They watched as light soon flooded the window where Jamie’s room was located. They could hear laughter and raucous noises as the party did whatever they were doing upstairs.

“What are they doing up there, Jamie?”

He laughed. “I suppose we’re being pranked, Sassenach. Who kens what they’re up tae. We’ll just wait until they’re gone.”

One by one, the crowd left the house, laughing and joking. When Jamie was certain they had all left, he led Claire by the hand out of the bushes and up to the house. He carefully opened the door and looked inside, then laughed. 

Stepping inside, they saw things all topsy-turvy. Creeping upstairs, Jamie and Claire found the bed filled with flour and short-sheeted. Laughing at the pranks left behind, Claire and Jamie quickly removed the bedding and replaced it with fresh bedding. 

It was then that things got awkward. Jamie looked at Claire, his grin slowly fading. 

“What? Do I have flour on my face?” Claire quickly brushed her cheeks removing any trace of what might have been there. 

“Nae. I just thought how bonny ye looked, yer face all red and glowing.”

“Oh. Well. Thank you.” Claire looked down at her hands, wringing themselves. 

“I suppose we should turn in for the night then. Morning will be here before we ken it and unfortunately, the chores won’t wait.”

“No, I don’t suppose they will. I’ll just go to my room, then.” She turned and started out the door.

“Claire.” He took her arm.

She stopped and looked at him. 

“Do ye need help wi’ yer laces and such, again?”

She gave an apologetic look. “I’m afraid I do.”

“Alright. I’ll see tae it, then.” 

He followed her into her room, which appeared to be untouched. She turned her back to him as he began to unhook her bodice. She let it slide off her arms and sat it on the bed. He helped her off with her skirts and petticoats, then began on the laces of her corset. She could hear him breathing quickly and his movements slowed as he finished. The corset fell to the floor with a thud. His fingers traced the smooth skin of her back above her fancy shift, moving to the lace straps that were hanging off her shoulders, where they were concealed by the sleeves of her off-the-shoulder bodice. Gently he slid the delicate lace straps back up onto her shoulders. She felt the hint of a breath on her neck as he placed a very soft kiss on her right shoulder. 

She turned back to face him. She couldn’t help noticing the way his kilt tented between his legs and how his chest moved as he breathed quickly. 

“Claire, I…”

She put a finger up to his mouth, quieting him. She leaned up and gently kissed him on the mouth, then stepped back. “Goodnight husband.”

Jamie drank up the sight of her standing there in her beautiful shift, her hair escaping the pins and curling down onto her shoulders. He backed up to the door, then said softly, “Goodnight wife.”

Claire took care of her clothes, then got into bed, blowing out the lamp. She laid there in the dark and listened while Jamie prepared for bed next door. 

She was nearly to sleep when she heard the loud sound of cow bells jingling from Jamie’s bed. They must’ve tied them to the ropes underneath. She heard a loud string of what she was now sure was Gaelic curses coming from his room. She laughed as she heard the curses escalate as each bell was removed one at a time. 

She snuggled into her pillow, falling asleep with a smile on her face. 

**********

Jamie had roused a few hours later to the sound of his mare whinnying in her stall out in the barn. He rose to go check on her, knowing that she was about to foal. He threw on his trousers, foregoing his shirt due to the warm weather. He was overheated and didn’t rest well, anyway, after trying to get the image of Claire dressed only in her shift out of his head. Cutting off the damned cowbells off the ropes under his bed hadn’t helped matters any. 

Quietly easing out of the house, he went to the barn and found Willow. She was unsettled, too, instinct telling her that she was about to give birth. She paced around her stall and whinnied. Jamie went into the stall and petted her nose, talking to her quietly in Gaelic. She finally calmed a bit and laid down in the fresh straw. He opened the shutters in Willow’s stall to let in some fresh air. Walking back to the wall, he made up a comfortable spot with some stacked hay bales. He knew the time was near for Willow. Sitting down, he leaned back, and stared out the window, waiting. 

It wasn’t long before he saw Claire standing by her closed window. She bent over and opened it, leaning onto the window sill, fanning the cool breeze onto herself. As she turned her back to the window, Jamie saw her toss her shift off and walk naked back to the bed. 

God, save him. He was in for a long, long night. The image was burned forever onto his brain. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing that burned that night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We left our newlyweds with Jamie in the stables checking on Willow, his mare who was in the beginning stages of labor. Our poor Jamie is in quite the fix. Right about now, he’s contemplating just how wise it was to suggest that they wait to consummate their marriage. This is from Jamie’s POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a small chapter. I will try to post a mid-week chapter to make up for it. Things will start heating up from this point on. Stick with me! All this builds up in Jamie (and Claire) to a boiling point. 
> 
> Also, I know LESS than nothing about birthing animal babies as I conveniently make myself scarce during any such goings-on. If I wrote something incorrectly, you'll have to forgive me. I'm going on stories I've heard my husband tell (insert my grimace face here).

Jamie spent the night and much of the day in the stable monitoring Willow. To say Jamie was getting worried was an understatement. By mid-afternoon, he knew Willow was in trouble. **  
**

Claire had brought simple meals out to him and managed to make coffee, as well. She had apologized to him for her lack of cooking skills, but had mentioned her plan to have Mary teach her. She told him how she looked forward to learning and spending more time with Mary, getting to know her. 

When Claire brought out supper, she knew it was not going well. Jamie’s brow was furrowed and worry was written all over his face. 

“Will she be alright?” 

“I dinnae ken, Sassenach. I think the foal is turned the wrong way. I’ve done everything I can but now I’m going to have no choice but to turn it around myself.”

“Here. You sit and eat. I’ll sit with her for a bit.”

Jamie took his plate over to the hay bales that he’d been camped out upon and quickly ate the stew (which he was fairly certain came from Mary) along with the buttered slice of bread. As he sat his plate aside, he watched Claire sitting at Willow’s side. He watched her small, delicate fingers caress Willow’s neck and talk lowly to her, soothing her as much as she was able. 

It was then that Jamie had an idea. He remembered when his Da had a mare with much the same trouble. He had summoned his older sister, Jenny, to come out and help. Her arm was small enough to reach inside the mare and turn the foal into the proper position so the mare could birth the foal on her own. Looking at Claire’s hands and arm, he thought it might just be possible. 

“Claire? Have ye ever helped with a birth?”

“I have. I’m not a midwife, as such, but I’ve assisted and know what to do. Why do you ask?”

Jamie told her of his idea. While she seemed concerned that she wasn’t knowledgeable with animal births, she couldn’t stand to see Willow suffer and readily agreed to help in any way that she could. She assured him that she truly wasn’t the squeamish sort, being something of a healer. 

He told her that the job could be quite messy and asked if she had any old clothes that she wouldn’t be afraid to just burn when she was done. Of course, she didn’t. She had only arrived with her nicer clothes and what new items she purchased at the dressmakers. 

Jamie grimaced. “My clothes are way too big for ye and ye’ll need something without sleeves, as those will just get in the way. Do ye have an old shift that would work?”

She nodded. She did, in fact, have an old shift. It was worn around the edges and needed mending, but it would work. 

“Go inside and change. That will have to do.”

Claire ran back into the house and within minutes returned. She had a thin robe on and was barefoot. Her hair was tied up in a dishcloth. 

“I’m ready. Show me what to do.” 

As Jamie told her how to go about things, she nodded, understanding exactly what needed to happen. Claire took off her robe and tossed it on the hay bale. Jamie was momentarily stunned, looking Claire up and down. He couldn’t help it. His eyes were drawn to the front of her shift, which was practically see-through with age. What he couldn’t see clearly, his mind filled in the blanks for him. His mouth went dry. 

Mentally he shook his head and got on with his work of helping Willow birth this foal. He guided Claire into position and stood behind her, guiding her hand inside Willow and talking her through the process.

Claire exclaimed, “I feel the leg!”

“Aye. Now ease the foal around just like we talked.” Willow tossed her head and whinnied in distress. “Quickly now but go gently.”

“Oh! Jamie, I think she’s having a contraction! She’s squeezing my arm!”

“I ken. Just stay with it now, Sassenach. You’re doing just fine.” 

Jamie could feel Claire’s body tense up with the strength of Willow’s contractions. He rubbed her arms to keep the blood flowing and aided her through the process as much as possible. 

After several tense minutes, Claire said, “I think the foal is in the right position now.” She eased her arm out of Willow and stepped back, Jamie taking over. It wasn’t long before Willow was ready to push and this time, she was productive. Jamie could finally see the foal. He assisted Willow when he thought she needed a bit more help and before long, the newborn foal was laying on the fresh hay at Willow’s feet. Willow was nuzzling the newborn and before long, it raised its head. 

Jamie gave a huge sigh of relief. Claire sank down by the new foal and used some soft fresh hay to wipe it down. It was then that Jamie noticed how messy Claire had really gotten in the process of helping Willow. She was such a brave wee thing. He didn’t know too many women who would have done what she did. 

Soon, it was evident that all would be well and Willow was caring for the foal. They watched Willow gently nudge the newborn to its feet. It took several unsteady tries at standing, then stumbled over to its mother and latched on to feed. 

Jamie watched Claire intermittently, marveling over the play of emotions on her face. 

“Oh Jamie. It’s just beautiful. Is it a male or female?” 

“A bonny wee female. What do ye think we should name it?”

Claire thought for a minute. “How about Bonny?”

Willow whinnied and nuzzled into Claire. “Weel, Sassenach, I do believe Willow agrees wi’ ye. Bonny it is.”

They watched Willow bond with Bonny for a few more minutes. Jamie finally said, “Sassenach, ye’re a mess. Let’s get ye inside and cleaned up. I think that shift might be finished, as well.”

Jamie helped her rise and they walked into the house. 

**********

Jamie had had the forethought to put plenty of water on to heat, knowing that baths would be in order tonight. He pulled out the copper tub close to the heat of the fire, tossing a few old quilts on the floor to keep it from getting soaked, then began to haul water to fill the tub. To provide some privacy, he secured a rope from one side of the room to the other and tossed two old sheets over it. He set out the dish of soap, a pitcher for rinsing, and some towels. This would have to do.

He summoned Claire into the room and went into the parlor to give her some privacy. He could hear her as she sank into the water and sighed. Closing his eyes, his head resting on the back of the chair, he could no more stop the images his mind conjured up of Claire naked in the tub than he could keep from breathing air. In his mind, he saw her running the soap over her limbs, her slick, soapy hands gliding over the breasts and her abdomen and further down from there. 

He knew he was just torturing himself with these thoughts. He rose from the chair and started for the door. Glancing at the sheet that hung over the rope, he noticed that he could clearly see through the gap in the sheeting. 

And he couldn’t NOT look. He just couldn’t. 

He stood rooted to the spot and watched, mesmerized, as Claire rinsed her hair and her body. He caught wee glimpses of her breasts as she rinsed her hair for the last time. Then she stood. 

Blood rushed in his veins and his breathing quickened. His heart raced in his chest. 

She was beautiful. Her skin glowed from the light of the fire, creating a radiance about her that captivated him thoroughly and completely. The water sluiced off her skin as she bent to retrieve the towel. It was then that he had a full entire glimpse of her. Her full breasts. Her nipples like ripe cherries. Her slim waist. The shadow between her legs. And her legs. They were long and lean. She stepped out of the tub and turned her back to him, bending over to towel dry her long dark curls. He swallowed hard enough that she should have heard him. Her full round arse was displayed in all its glory. It brought back the images of her walking away from her bedroom window last night, removing her shift in the heat of the night. The image that fueled the fire burning within him so strongly at this very moment. 

His erection was nearly painful, causing him to shift himself in his trousers. At just the slightest touch of his cock, he could feel the blood pulsating and throbbing. 

Before she noticed him there, he fled to the barn. 

**********

Jamie leaned his forehead against the closed barn door, trying desperately to get himself under control. 

He couldn’t. 

The images of Claire standing there in the firelight were burned on his brain. He didn’t often give in to his carnal urges, but there was no way in hell that he would be able to get through the rest of this evening without giving in. 

He tore open the fly of his trousers, reached in and fisted his cock.. He groaned deep in his throat at the sheer want and need…or was it merely lust?…that he felt for his new wife, a near stranger. His cock was leaking already before he had even slid his hand to the root. He knew this would be the quickest orgasm he had ever experienced. It took exactly three pumps of his fist and he exploded all over the hay on the floor, throwing his head back and groaning loud. He leaned his head back against the barn wall, resting his forehead on his forearm as he panted and struggled to bring oxygen back into his lungs, restoring his heart to a slower rhythm. 

He was sure it would be safe enough to go back inside and get his own bath. As he was fastening his trousers, he glanced up. His heart jumped into his throat. 

There was Claire standing in the door to the barn, watching him with wide eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we left off with Jamie getting caught red-handed by Claire in the barn playing a little hand shandy. I really am starting to feel a little bit badly for our poor Jamie, having a bad case of the blue balls. So here we gooooo!

Claire, having finished rinsing off, was loath to get out of the tub. The combination of the water and the heat from the burning fire helped ease the sore muscles that she rarely used like she did today. She still marveled at the fact that she helped Willow give birth to Bonny. She had been reluctant to help, being so afraid she’d injure Willow or the foal. But afterwards, she had felt such exhilaration! **  
**

She shook her head. What would Uncle Lamb think of her now? She laughed inwardly. She could only guess exactly what he’d say. “Claire, my dearest, you never fail to turn the world up on its head.” She smiled fondly, missing the only family she had known. 

She noticed her fingers were beginning to prune, so she stood up and got out of the tub. Hearing the door slam closed, she knew Jamie had left the house. She knew he would need a bath as well. She dried off quickly. Throwing on her clean shift and robe, she grabbed an empty bucket and skimmed out some of the worst of the water and suds, tossing it out the back door. She managed to get enough heated water back in the tub for Jamie without spilling a drop before he returned.

Walking through the draped sheets, she went off in search of Jamie. Looking out the front door, she noticed that the barn door was slightly ajar. He was likely checking on Willow and Bonny. Walking quickly to the barn, she slowly eased open the door, so as not to spook Willow or Bonny, then stepped inside. She saw Willow in her stall, nuzzling Bonny…but no Jamie. 

Then she heard a low moan off to the left. There was Jamie, with his head leaning on his arm on the wall of the barn. She was about to ask if he was alright, since the moan sounded like he was in pain, when her eyes were drawn to movement lower down. 

She had never in her entire life seen the like. His trousers were open and he was holding onto himself, sliding his hand up and down his…his…

Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as she watched him throw his head back, his eyes shut tightly, his teeth bared, neck muscles tight as he groaned in the final throes of ecstasy. She watched in awe as the white substance spurted out into the hay on the floor. 

So that’s how that worked. She always wondered…

And then he saw her.

**********

Claire heard Jamie gasp, quickly turning his back to her to fasten his fly. 

She stammered out, “Jamie! I am…good Lord…I am so sorry to intrude. I didn’t know that…”

Jamie’s shoulders rose and fell as he sucked air into his lungs, trying to restore his breathing to normal. Claire, rooted to the spot, meant to back out of the barn and run back to her room where she could die of embarrassment in private. But she couldn’t budge. She was completely captivated by the shift of the muscles in his bare back and how good he looked in his trousers slung low on his hips. 

He slowly turned around, embarrassment clearly written all over his face. “Claire, I am the one who should be apologizing to ye. I just…I just,” he drew in a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have given in tae…tae…abusing myself. I usually have more control, ye ken. It’s just that ye were so bonny and when I saw ye stand up from the tub, I…”

If it were possible for him to turn redder, he did.

“Christ! Oh Claire, I am a bumbling idiot.” He looked down at the floor, his fingers nervously tapping out a rhythm on his leg.

“I’ll just go get my bath before I shove my entire foot in my mouth.” And with that, he walked out the door. 

Claire still couldn’t move. To say she was stunned was an understatement. 

He saw her naked. And he thought she was bonny.

A grin slowly spread across her face. She scratched behind her ear. 

Well, well. 

Claire had stayed in the barn, petting Willow and Bonny, giving Jamie privacy for his bath. When she was sure the coast was clear, she went inside to her bedroom. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

**********

She was startled awake when thunder rattled the windows and shook the house. She always hated storms. She eased out of bed to pace the floor. It was pitch dark outside, the only light being that of the lightning as it struck entirely too close to the house for her liking. The wind was blowing hard enough that she could hear the roof creak. 

That was it. She couldn’t do it. 

She ran out of her room and frantically knocked on Jamie’s door. “Jamie. Jamie!”

She heard heavy footsteps run to the door, throwing it open. “Claire! What is it? Are ye ill?”

The roof creaked again and lightning struck, followed by a loud rumble of thunder that seemed to echo and go on and on. Claire shook and tightened her arms about herself. “I don’t like storms,” she said in what little voice she could get out. 

“Come here, Sassenach.” He took her in his arms and held her tight. “It’s just a wee thunderstorm, nothing more. No need to be skeert.”

Claire nodded mutely. But she couldn’t help it. She WAS scared. Uncle Lamb knew of her fear and always held her during the worst of the storm, singing to her. She would eventually fall asleep and he’d tuck her in and tiptoe off to his own bed. 

She whispered, “Storms scare me.” She related how Uncle Lamb had helped her cope. 

Jamie laughed, “Weel, Sassenach, I’m not much of a singer. In fact, I cannae carry a tune in a bucket. But I can hold onto ye and keep ye safe. Come.”

He took her hand and led her to his bed. He went to the opposite side, getting in under the light covers. He eased back the blanket for her and motioned for her to get in. She hesitated but jumped in when the thunder cracked loudly again. 

He chuckled softly and pulled her gently into his arms, tucking her safely under his wing like a mama hen. She grimaced when the wind rose and the lightning struck again, illuminating the room. She closed her eyes tightly and nuzzled her nose into his chest. He reached up with his free hand and gently stroked her hair. 

Then he began to tell her a story. He talked of the faeries and selkies. He told of how a Highlander man was captivated by a selkie from the sea. He was a gifted storyteller, drawing her attention to him, rather than the storm. 

Before long, she fell asleep in his arms, finally feeling safe.

**********

When Claire awoke the next morning, she was aware of exactly two things. First, she had had the best night’s sleep she’d probably ever had in her life. Second, having arched her back while stretching, she discovered was not alone. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was not in her room and recalled that she was, in fact, still in Jamie’s bedroom. In HIS bed. And HE was still there. 

Her bottom was still spooned up against Jamie. He had his arm thrown over her, his hand cupping her breast. He was still sound asleep, breathing softly and steadily behind her. 

She knew she should get up before he woke up and get herself into her own room. She just couldn’t summon the motivation. She liked where she was. So she stayed. 

She felt him move slightly in his sleep, his hips spooning hers tighter. She then realized two more things. 

Her shift had worked its way up entirely farther than was appropriate and, second, a certain part of his anatomy was snuggled up between her buttocks, separated only by his nightshirt. She blinked, not knowing what her next move should be. She couldn’t help but be a bit curious, though. She slowly and gently pressed ever so slightly back into him. She felt said anatomy twitch and lengthen. In answer, her own anatomy heated and seemed to flood with desire. She was a virgin, but she wasn’t completely in the dark. She knew how things worked, having worked alongside a midwife and a doctor, learning the practice of medicine in Boston. But she didn’t know the details. She didn’t know that liquid heat would spread from her core flowing from her head to her toes. She didn’t know the all-consuming desire to arch her back and angle herself into such a spot that she could rub against him where she wanted it the most. 

She pictured Jamie in the barn last night and how he looked as he reached his climax. She had never seen anything as erotic. Just the thought of it made her breathing quicken and her back ever so slightly arched again, pressing her bottom up against Jamie. She felt him twitch again. She knew from last night that he was…rather large…there. If anything, he felt larger than that. She slowly arched again and as she did, his cock slid further between her cleft. 

She felt his arm tighten ever so slightly and he moaned in his sleep. He lazily thrust his hips at her in answer, but she was certain he wasn’t fully awake yet. This time when she slid, she realized his nightshirt had risen with their subtle movements, leaving his cock bare against her bottom. The very idea of it nearly made her eyes cross. 

She shifted her hips a little bit, slowly so as not to awaken him. His cock, having a mind of its own, shifted also, searching for her warmth. As she arched her back, it slid between her thighs which were drenched with moisture from her heat. When he slowly thrust lazily between her thighs, he held himself there and hit a particular spot which sent jolts of electricity through her. She slid as slowly as she could along his length, still marveling that he was sound asleep. His hand on her breast tightened ever so slightly, but just enough that her nipple had worked its way between his fingers. She found that as she slid along his length between her thighs, his fingers tightened on her nipple. The combination was enough to cause her hips to have a mind of their own. 

Suddenly, she felt Jamie rouse and gasp on a moan. This time, she knew he was awake. She arched her hips back against him sharply and in reflex, his hips thrust forward, his fingers tightening on her nipple. As Jamie came around and realized what was going on, he gasped again and began to move back away from Claire. 

But she wasn’t having it. It felt too good. She’d never experienced anything quite so delicious in her life. She reached back and held his bare hip where it was and thrust back against him. In answer, his fingers squeezed her breast, stroking back and forth over her erect nipple.

She thought she heard a moan, but she wasn’t sure if it was him or her. And he took over. 

He tightened his hold on her, and thrust harder between her wet thighs, stroking that spot between her legs that craved for more. She just didn’t know what.

Their thrusts all at once became frenzied. Her thighs tightened around him and he thrust deeper and faster, sliding constantly against that spot full of nerve endings, rather than tease it. Claire’s heart nearly beat right out of her chest, her mouth open and gasping. Jamie’s fingers tightened around her nipple and gently pinched it.

Claire exploded into a frenzy of white light, electricity pulsing through her. She heard herself give out a low scream, followed closely by Jamie’s deep, low growl. She felt his cock wetting her thigh, pulsating, his hand clenched tightly around her breast. 

As they came back slowly to earth, they laid there close to each other, chests heaving. 

Finally, Jamie said, “I thought I was dreaming. Claire, I’m sae sorry. I didnae mean tae…”

Claire rolled over and laid her fingers on his mouth. “You didn’t, Jamie. I did this. I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

“Ye mean…”

“Yes. You might have been dreaming. I know you weren’t awake. I just…well, I just sort of followed my instincts and did what felt good.”

“So, ye did…finish? I mean, I ken that men can, but I didnae ken that women could,” he marveled. 

“I guess I did. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Ever. Is it like that every time?”

“Weel, truth be told, I…I,” he stammered, “I dinnae ken. I’ve never done it, either.” 

“Oh.” Claire didn’t expect that answer, but deep down she was pleased. 

They were quiet for a bit longer. Finally, Jamie ventured, “Claire, would ye be interested in maybe… maybe consummating our marriage?”

“I think it’s high time we did. Don’t you?”

“Aye. I don’t relish any more torture, myself. Maybe tonight, then?” He gave a short laugh.

Claire grinned. “Alright. I shouldn’t like to think my new husband is being tortured. If it’s anything at all like what we just did, I think I’ll like it just fine.”

**********

Claire and Jamie rose for the day, cleaned up and got dressed in their own rooms. Claire had thrown together a passing breakfast of porridge and told Jamie of her plan to go down and see Mary for a cooking lesson. 

And if she could get up the nerve, maybe a little lesson on what to expect on their delayed wedding night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tune in next time for the big event in Chapter 10!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 left off with Claire going to Jamie’s room in the middle of the night because she is deathly scared of storms. When she woke up, she sort of did a wee thing…that led to another wee thing…which built up to today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, y’all!. This has taken on a life of it’s own. This belated wedding night thing has taken me all day to write and it morphed itself into a literary monster. So I split it into two chapters. So today, I will post Chapter 10 AND Chapter 11. This chapter isn't really NSFW. But Chapter 11 certainly IS.

Claire and Mary had spent a busy morning in Mary’s kitchen. Mary taught her how to cook some fairly easy things. She learned way more than she ever thought of learning in one day about cooking, cleaning, laundry and all the other things that a wife does on a farm. She was nowhere near done learning, but she was a quick study. 

By mid-morning, Claire was standing at the corner of the table learning how to knead dough to make bread. She had finally gotten the hang of it, when Jamie and Will came in to see how the lasses were getting along and to grab a cup of coffee. Mary had assured him that Claire was a fast learner and would be cooking fine meals in no time at all. Claire doubted that, but it was nice to hear anyway.

Will had gone to the stove where Mary was busy, occupying himself with stealing tastes of whatever she was tending there. Claire had continued on with kneading when she noticed that Jamie had gotten quiet. She glanced up at him, sitting opposite her at the table. His eyes were glazed over, his coffee cup halfway to his mouth, staring at her bosom. She was bent over the table, the collar of her gingham dress open, revealing her cleavage. He was so busy alternately looking down her dress and watching her hands, that she was able to secretly watch him in turn. As she leaned further into her work, his eyes became hooded. She grinned inwardly when she noticed that the tips of his ears were turning red. 

“Earth to Claire! Claire Fraser! Woo-hoo!” 

Mary waved at her from the kitchen stove, startling both Claire and Jamie. 

“Sorry, Mary! I was a bit preoccupied there for a bit.”

“I’d say ye werena the only one preoccupied there. Ye can stop kneading now. The loaf is ready to go into the pan now.”

Will elbowed Mary, “I think my brother there was dreaming about another sort of _kneading_ entirely.” Mary bubbled over with laughter.

Jamie drained his coffee cup and sat it down. Standing up, he said, “Weel, I’ll leave ye tae it, then. I have better things tae do outside.” Jamie shot Will a dirty look.

Mary snorted, but refrained from saying anything. “Ye’d best join him, Will. Yer embarrassing the life outta our Claire.” With a kiss to Mary’s cheek, Will sat his empty cup on the counter and followed him out the door.

Mary helped Claire arrange the dough in the pan. She then decided they had time to try baking a pie before it was time to prepare lunch. They chatted jovially as they worked. Before they knew it, it was time for lunch.

The men came in and reaped some of the benefits of Claire’s cooking lessons. Will and Jamie praised her for a job well done, causing Claire to blush furiously when she met Jamie’s eyes. A look, which wasn’t lost on Will.

“Weel, brother. How is marrit life treatin’ ye?” He laughed heartily and whalloped Jamie across the shoulder. 

Jamie smacked him back, replying, “It’s treatin’ me just fine. And ye can haud yer wheesht!”

That only made Will laugh harder. Mary rolled her eyes and looked at Claire, “Ach…here we go.”

“I hope newlywed life isn’t too _hard_ on ye, brother!” Will doubled over laughing.

“Ye shut yer gob! Dinnae be crass around Claire!”

“What about me?!” Mary clearly felt she didn’t signify.

Will got up and went around the table to give his wife a loud smack on her cheek. “Awwww, my wife. Life is ALWAYS hard wi’ ye around. And I’m glad of it, too!”

Mary elbowed him in the side. “Get ye on out to do the chores, ye ridiculous thing.” Will laughed again and leaned down to whisper something in Mary’s ear. She reddened and grinned. “OUT! Both of ye!”

Will and Jamie headed out to the barn, ribbing each other good-naturedly the whole way out.

“Are they always like that with each other?”

“Ach…ye have no idea! I reckon ye haven’t seen that side of Jamie much, given that ye havenae kent each other for that long, but he is just like Will. They tease and joke with each other all the time. Is Jamie no’ like that wi’ ye at home?”

“Well, not like Will is with you. Like you said, we’re still getting to know each other.”

Mary poured Claire a cup of tea and passed a biscuit to her. “So. Did ye enjoy your wedding night? Ye ken ye dinnae have to talk of it, if ye arenae comfortable wi’ it. I just want ye tae ken that I’m here fer ye. Like a sister.”

Claire cleared her throat and sipped her tea. She knew that now was the perfect time to broach the subject of just how much she didn’t know about what a wedding night should truly look like. She knew it would be something close to what they experienced last night. She knew there would be a certain amount of pain involved, based on the whispers of friends in Boston. She knew the basics of the act and what should go where. She knew she could bluff her way through a conversation about a wedding night, based on that slight knowledge alone. But what she couldn’t bluff her way through…and what she really wanted to ask…was what she experienced last night. Jamie had mentioned that he didn’t even know that a woman…well, “could”. That moment where it felt like liquid electricity pulsed through her veins. She wasn’t at all sure what that bit was about, but she would love to know more. 

Claire took a deep breath and put down her tea cup. She toyed with her biscuit. Mary, finally taking pity on her, said, “Alright. Spit it out. What is it ye cannae say? I won’t be shocked. He didnae hurt ye, did he?”

“Oh no! I mean,” she hedged, “well, there was a bit of pain, you know, but nothing that I didn’t expect. No, it was really…the bit at the end.”

“Ahhhh. The end. The best part, ye ken? Did Jamie finish too quickly for ye?”

“No, no. You see,” Ugh…this was way harder for Claire to talk about than she ever dreamed. She took a deep breath, rubbing her heated cheeks, “It was m…me. It was as if I couldn’t breathe and floated right out of my skin. As if…as if I was struck by lightning. What was that?”

Mary leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms with a knowing grin spreading on her face. “So it was *that* good, aye?”

“What?”

“Jamie took care of yer pleasure, too. Ye see, women can climax, too, just like a man can. But it takes a bit more work, see. Ye have a spot between yer legs that, when it’s rubbed, causes that to happen. It may not happen every time, but with a good lover, it will. And I suspect Jamie is the sort to be good to ye. Will certainly is, so it stands to reason that Jamie would be.”

“I see.” Claire was still curious, but more about that later.

“Now that ye arenae a virgin anymore, ye can have a wee bit more fun. It willnae hurt and ye won’t bleed this time around. Ye can even try different positions. Ye can even be in charge.”

“What do you mean…in charge?”

“Well, ye’d be on top, aye? 

“Oh. I never even thought…”

“Weel, of course no’! Ye can only ken sae much from listening in to whispered conversations between marrit lasses. Will and I, weel, we have a good marriage. We learned a lot about things along the way by talking and making sure the other understood what felt nice and what didn’t. That helps. Plus, Will found out a lot from a friend he trusts. That also helped a lot. But ye have me and I willnae steer ye wrong. Now, here’s what ye need to ken…”

**********

Claire had finished her first day of lessons, and was feeling fairly good about the progress she had made in just one day. She enjoyed her time with Mary. Walking back to the farm, she thought about all that Mary had told her after lunch. She hadn’t let on that she was still technically a virgin and that she and Jamie hadn’t consummated their marriage yet. Their conversation was definitely eye-opening for Claire. She had never dreamed some of the things Mary told her were…well…done. 

As she neared the farm, she picked up her pace in anticipation of seeing Jamie. He had returned to the farm earlier in the afternoon, telling Claire not to worry about supper. He had a surprise planned and told her to be home at 5:30 and not a minute before.

She wondered what Jamie had cooked up. 

On the porch, the smell of food wafted out to her nose, making Claire’s stomach growl. Opening the door, she found the table all set with fancy dishes and a bottle of wine. Jamie had prepared a lovely meal and was just finishing with bringing the food to the table.

“Weel! Just in time, Sassenach!”

“Jamie! This is such a lovely surprise! Did you do all this by yourself?”

“Of course I did. I can cook, ye ken. Mrs. Crook, who was our kitchen maid at Lallybroch, wouldnae have sent Will and I off to America, not able to feed ourselves. Now sit down here before the food gets cold.” Jamie pulled out Claire’s chair for her.

As Claire settled in, she realized just how much effort Jamie had put in. He had lit candles. The table was set to perfection. The food was piping hot and smelled heavenly. 

They ate in relative silence, stealing glances at each other between small talk about their day. 

Before long, their hunger satisfied, Jamie said, “Why don’t ye go up to yer room. I have a surprise up there for ye, too. I’ll clean up down here.”

Claire went upstairs and curiously eased open her door. On the bed was a beautiful nightgown laid out for her. She wondered where he’d gotten it. As she fingered the gauzy, transparent fabric, she noticed that he’d also gone to the trouble of bringing her water to bathe with and fresh linens. Beside the water was a delicate looking bottle adorned with gold filigree. Uncapping it, she sniffed at it and found it to be the most delicious-smelling perfume that suited her perfectly. It was a soft scent with hints of vanilla and bergamot. 

Knowing what Jamie had in mind for the remainder of her evening, she went about her preparations, taking extra care. She could hear Jamie next door, likely doing the same thing. She sat at her table, removing her hair pins so that her long, curly hair tumbled down her shoulders. She dipped her hair brush in a bit of the scented water that she used to bathe in and drew it through her hair. Setting the brush down, she looked at her reflection closely in the mirror. She pinched her cheeks a bit, not that she needed to. Her color was high, her skin glowing. She’d do. 

Standing up she turned around before the floor length mirror in the corner, admiring her new nightgown. It was delicately sheer and left absolutely nothing to the imagination. 

Jamie had excellent taste.

It was then that she heard a soft knock on her door.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It’s a Two-Fer Day, y’all! If you didn’t read Chapter 10 (which I just posted), stop right here and go back. Read that first. Then pop over here to Chapter 11. *** Warning: NSFW. Really, really non-suitable. *** If you’re reading this at work, maybe you can have a sudden attack of “gastrointestinal distress”. Go find a vacant stall and read quick. If this isn’t your thing, you can just skip this chapter and use your imagination however you see fit. 
> 
> Well, this is it! Jamie and Claire are finally gonna do the horizontal tango! Grab a drink (stay hydrated!) and break out some of that chocolate from your quarantine stash (y’all know you have it!). Enjoy!

Claire?” **  
**

“Come in.” Was that even her voice? She had never heard it pitched in that sultry tone before.

Jamie stepped inside and she heard him draw in a deep breath. 

She was breathless herself. He was clothed only in his trousers. His feet and chest were bare. She’d seen his bare chest before when Willow was giving birth, but she’d never really *looked*. His chest, with a smattering of fiery hair, was trim and muscled, from his work on the farm no doubt. Her eyes couldn’t help trailing down his torso, following the thin line of hair that went from his belly button and disappearing behind his trousers. Further down she eyed the bulge that was rapidly forming. 

He stepped up close to her and whispered, his voice full of awe, “Claire, yer…yer the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

He took her hand and drew her closer to him. She watched his hooded eyes look her over thoroughly from head to toe. “I imagined ye in this nightgown all day long. So bonny.” 

Her free hand reached up and gently touched the hair on his chest. It was rougher than the hair on his head. She trailed her fingers through it and skimmed them over his nipples, marveling at their softness. When the nipple she touched became instantly erect, not unlike her own, she decided to give it a bit more attention. She gently raked her fingernail over it, earning a sharp gasp of pleasure from Jamie. 

Glancing up, she barely had time to get a breath before he swooped in and kissed her hard on the mouth. He dropped her hand and pulled her up close to him, his arms wrapping around her, one at her waist, the other on the back of her head. She breathed in deeply of him, tasting the wine on his breath and something else. He smelled faintly of sandalwood. 

She slightly opened her mouth and he pressed his advantage. His tongue found and tangled with hers. She felt that electricity that she was slowly coming to know coursing through her veins. She felt more than heard the rumble low in his chest as he moaned when their kiss became nearly frenzied. 

His hand trailed down from her waist to her arse, where he brought her pelvis flush with his. She felt so many things at once that it was hard to pay attention to what was going on. She felt him rotate his hips toward her, pressing the bulge in his trousers against her. In answer, she ground against him, earning another deep groan from him. Between her thighs, she could feel a wetness and heat that made her yearn for more. 

Jamie drew away. “Christ, Claire!” His eyes were closed, his head tipped back as their hips continued their erotic dance. 

Suddenly, he backed away from her, his forehead leaning against hers, his chest heaving. 

“Claire, we have to slow down or this will be over way too fast.”

They stayed like that, catching their breath, willing their heartbeats to slow down. 

Jamie took a step back, then another. He reached his hand out to her and she took it. “Come.”

He led her out of her room, into his. He had a bouquet of fragrant wildflowers on the table by the open window, the breeze catching their scent and filling the room. Candles were scattered about the room on every surface, bathing the rapidly darkening room in a golden glow. He had placed a tray of fruit and cheese on the dresser, along with 2 glasses and a decanter of amber liquid. 

He walked over to the dresser and poured them each a glass, handing her one. She smelled it. Whisky. She should’ve guessed. 

Claire couldn’t help teasing, “Why Mr. Fraser. Wine…now whisky. Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?” 

“I had hoped so,” he replied cheekily.

“You truly have thought of everything.”

“I wanted to make it special for us, ye ken? Do ye like it?” His voice betrayed his shyness in the moment. It wasn’t often that Jamie Fraser wore a glass face like her own, but it shone through in that moment.

“Jamie, everything has been perfect. Everything I have dreamt of and more.”

He picked up a juicy strawberry and offered it to her. She watched his eyes as they focused on her mouth surrounding the berry, sharpening when her tongue darted out to lick the juice off her lips. She reached over and picked up one, as well, offering it up to him. He bit into it and chewed. 

She reached up to wipe the small trail of juice left behind on his mouth, but he caught her hand and held it. 

“Lick it off, instead,” he rasped out.

The liquor was starting to go to her head. She stood up on her tiptoes and slowly licked the spot on his mouth. Before he could respond, she backed away and chose another strawberry, this time dipping it into the whisky. She brought it up to her mouth where she sucked on the tip of the berry. Jamie’s eyes were on her mouth, watching. She dipped it again, this time biting off the end and chewing slowly. 

Tearing his eyes away, Jamie drained his glass of whisky, then poured himself another. He chose a plump grape and popped it in his mouth, his eyes drawn back to her. She drank from her glass, draining it as well. 

“Would ye like more?” She handed her glass to him in silent assent. He refilled it and gave it back to her, watching her as she sipped it. 

They went back and forth like that until they had emptied their glasses and put a significant dent in the tray of fruit, throwing heated looks at each other.

Jamie took her empty glass from her and placed both of them back on the dresser. 

The liquor had loosened her inhibitions and her tongue. “Would this be when you take advantage of me, Mr. Fraser?”

He gave her a knowing grin. “Why Mrs. Fraser. Ye are a bold wee thing, aren’t ye?”

“It must’ve been all that liquor you’ve been plying me with. I hope I’m not too bold for you.”

He gave a soft, humorous hmph. “I like it just fine, Sassenach. Ye can try yer wiles on me anytime ye see fit.”

“Wiles, eh? What wiles?”

“Oh, ye ken what wiles yer wielding, ye vixen.” He walked back over to her and trailed a finger from her cheek down her neck. “Ye, standin’ there, suckin’ on a berry.” He trailed his finger slowly down her chest to trail down her left breast. “Yer nipples teasin’ me behind this bit of fabric.” He flicked a finger over said nipple, causing it to swell. 

Claire’s breath caught on a gasp, her eyes closing. 

“Nae, Sassenach. Open yer eyes. I want to see ye.”

She lifted her eyes to him. His hand closed over her breast and gently squeezed. 

“Yer wee fingers, teasin’ me all day. Ye ken when ye were kneading that bread dough this morning, all I could think about was those fingers…on me. Did ye ken then what ye were doin’ tae me?”

In for a penny, in for a pound, Claire thought. She was enjoying their flirty banter and knew from her conversation with Mary today that men enjoyed it, too. 

“I might have. I saw you looking down my bodice. You have a naughty streak, Mr. Fraser.”

“I suspect ye have a wee naughty streak, as well, Mrs. Fraser. And glad of it, I am, too.”

Claire grinned. 

She ran a fingernail down his chest, slowly to his stomach, causing him to shiver.

“And what exactly were you imagining my fingers were doing, pray tell Mr. Fraser?” She slowly drew out a figure eight on his tight abdomen. “Did it have anything to do with what I saw you doing in the barn? My fingers instead of…yours?” She watched as her finger traced the thin line of hair down to where it disappeared below his waistband. 

He grabbed her wandering fingers then. Startled, she looked up at him. She was afraid she had taken it too far with that last remark, which she completely blamed on entirely too much alcohol. 

But she saw the nearly imperceptible gleam in his eye. He raised his left eyebrow up and then back down at her, the corner of his mouth raising. He was clearly calling her bluff. 

He took her hand in his and put it on the bulge straining in his trousers. She experimentally squeezed it gently, causing him to choke on a gasp, his hips thrusting forward of their own volition. It was way bigger than it seemed last night. He squeezed her fingers and showed her how to slide along its length. She felt it leap and pulse beneath her fingers. 

Sooner than she was ready to release him, he pulled her hand away, his chest heaving. 

“Claire, I…I dinnae think I can drag this out too much longer. Ye’ve bewitched me from almost the very second ye set foot off that train. Please, please tell me this is alright. If ye dinnae want to, we can still stop now. But anytime after this, I’ll no’ be able to stop.”

She saw the pleading look in his eyes. She reached up and stroked his cheek with her hand. “I don’t want to stop. Now or ever.”

From that point on, it was a flurry of movement. Jamie grabbed her roughly to him and kissed her hard on the mouth, tongue and all. His hands squeezed her arse, grinding his hips into hers. She realized at that point just how ready she was. Her thighs were coated with moisture, each thrust of their hips causing a yearning within her that she knew only Jamie could satisfy. 

He slid the delicate lace straps off her shoulders, causing the nightgown to fall slowly down to the floor. He stepped back and his eyes widened at the sight of her. She started to cover herself with her arms instinctively, but he stopped her. 

“Nae, Sassenach. Dinnae cover yerself. I want to look at you.” He walked around her and stepped up behind her, moving her hair to the side, kissing her on the neck. He reached around her and covered both breasts with his hands, teasing and pulling at her nipples, causing her to moan out loud. As she arched her back, her arse ground into his cock. He was nearly panting at this point, and for that matter, so was she. Slowly, his right hand trailed down to tangle with the hair between her legs. No one had ever touched her there before. She squeezed her thighs together.

“Let me in, Sassenach,” he whispered in her ear. 

She allowed her thigh muscles to relax and took a small step out to allow his hand in. She held her breath as his finger slid in between her slick folds.

“Christ, Claire. Yer so wet.” He groaned in her ear and thrust against her arse again. She tried not to be embarrassed, but apparently he liked it based upon his reaction. Mary had, after all, told her to pay attention. If something made him groan, do it again.

As he explored between her legs, he rubbed that particular spot that Mary had spoken of and Claire’s legs nearly gave way on a moan. Jamie picked her up and carried her to his bed, laying her in the middle. When he removed his trousers, his cock sprang free, the tip covered with liquid. Claire didn’t get a very good look at him before he slipped in beside her. He moved his hand back to the spot between her legs.

“Open wider for me, Claire. Ye feel soooo good.”

She parted her knees and they dropped open, as Jamie slid further between them. He found the spot again and, watching her reaction carefully, he judged when he was in the right area. Her hips bucked of their own volition as she cried out, feeling those jolts of electricity begin to flood her veins. He slid a finger inside her slowly, letting her adjust to the feel of him. Using her hip movements and moans as his guide, he inserted another finger, widening her. He curled his fingers upward, just as Will had told him to do, and Claire exploded. She didn’t realize until much later (when Jamie told her, a satisfied grin on his face) that she had screamed. 

Jamie couldn’t move fast enough at that point. He came up between her legs, and positioned himself at her entrance, which was still contracting from her climax. He slid inside, a deep growl emitting from his throat. He felt Claire tense beneath him as he pierced her membrane. As he had known, he couldn’t go slow. He gave Claire a minute to adjust to his girth. He held himself above her, looking into her eyes, still hooded from her own climax. 

He whispered, “Ready?”

She could do no more than nod. 

He drew his hips back and slid back in. Claire grimaced, preparing for more pain, but found it lessened with each thrust. In fact, with each thrust, she felt the trickle of desire flow through her again. She could tell Jamie was holding himself in check. His muscles bulged in his restraint. She raised her hips to meet him and he slid in all the way to the root. 

His head lowered. “Oh God. Oh Claire! Do that again!”

And she did. Again and again, faster and faster until their hips lost time in the frenzy. She had no idea anymore who was moaning and crying out. She opened her eyes just in time to see him throw his head back, the veins on his neck standing out as he tensed up, his teeth bared. 

“Now, Claire, now!” 

That was enough to send her over the edge into oblivion with him. He collapsed on her as she felt the contractions of her inner muscles grip him, milking him for every last drop. 

They stayed there, their breathing labored, sweat gluing them together, until he slid out of her. She felt him shift and dragged himself up out of bed, returning with a cloth to clean them with. 

He had to cajole her to open her legs so he could clean her properly. When he was finally able to pry them open, he tenderly cleansed her. The warm water felt good against her tender folds. 

“Ach, Claire. I’m sae sorry. Did I hurt ye terribly?” His worried eyes betrayed him. She looked at the bloody cloth he held. 

“No, Jamie. I’m alright. Mary told me this would happen. A little blood is natural.” 

“That’s what Will said, too. But seeing it…weel, Sassenach, I dinnae mind saying that it makes me feel like a big brute.” 

“Shhhh…don’t think that.” She reached for Jamie. “Come back to bed.”

He tossed the cloth back into the bowl and got back into bed, shifting her to her side so he could spoon up behind her, holding her tight against him. 

She slowly drowsed off to sleep. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or not when she heard a whispered:

_“Tha gaol agam ort.”_


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We left off with our newlyweds finally having their (delayed) wedding night. We pick up with the morning after. This is also NSFW toward the end. Plan your bathroom breaks at work accordingly. {snort!}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I had to rewrite a portion that I thought was complete garbage. I’m much happier with this version!

Claire woke to the gentle breeze blowing curls across her face. Or so that’s what she thought it was. **  
**

When she opened her eyes, she saw Jamie, his head resting on his arm and his other gently twining the curls of her hair around his fingers. 

“Good morning, wife.” His voice was husky with sleep.

“Good morning,” Claire smiled. “How did you sleep?”

“It was the best sleep I’ve ever had. I’ve never slept beside someone before.” He brushed a finger down her cheek and traced her lips. “And how are ye this fine morning?”

Claire moved a bit and grimaced. “A bit sore. But other than that, I’m wonderful.”

Jamie frowned. “Are ye sure I didnae hurt ye, Claire? Was I too rough wi’ ye?”

“No. I’m told that is normal and it will go away. I’m sure all is just fine.”

“Weel, if yer sure. Is there anything I can get ye to help?”

She was sore in places she’d never in life been sore, but she did feel…well…complete. Mary had warned her of the soreness and had mentioned ways to help soothe that. She was looking forward to a nice soak this morning. 

“Jamie, would you mind bringing up some water for me? I wouldn’t mind a bit of a soak, if I’m perfectly honest with you. I’m a bit sore, but Mary assures me that a soak in warm water is just the thing to soothe it.”

“Of course.” He threw back the covers and got out of bed, bending over to retrieve his trousers. Claire raised up in bed to get a better view as he donned his trousers and boots. He looked over his shoulder, catching Claire in the act of ogling.

“Are ye looking at me in the altogether, Sassenach?” He was grinning at her. 

“I may have been enjoying a bit of the scenery, yes.” She started to get up.

“Nae, nae nae…you stay right there. Don’t move until I get back.”

Claire lowered back onto the pillow and stretched out after he left. She hadn’t luxuriated in the softness of a bed in a long time. She moved to her side, fluffed her pillow, and looked out the open window, watching the cool, gentle breeze whip the curtains around. 

It wasn’t long before Jamie reappeared. He moved in a hip bath, some towels and buckets of water. She watched the muscles in his bare arms and shoulders move as he hefted the water buckets and dumped them in the tub. She could watch him for all her days and never get enough. Jamie placed one towel on the back of the tub and turned to her. 

“All is ready.” He walked over to her and pulled back the covers, then froze. Claire was still naked and was caught mid-stretch when he’d pulled the covers back. She opened her eyes and looked at him, frozen to the spot, mouth open. 

Claire looked herself up and down and then looked back at Jamie. “What’s wrong?”

Jamie stammered, “I…I…I just…Christ, Claire, yer beautiful.” He looked down her body and paled at the small streak of blood on her thigh. He took her hand and pulled her out of bed to him. She looked at him, shyly. 

“Come Sassenach. Ye tempt me sorely right now, but I ken ye need to heal.” He took her hand and led her over to the hip bath. He helped her in and she sighed when the water hit her sore parts. Jamie went to his dresser. She closed her eyes and leaned back. She heard him come back and kneel behind her. He began to brush her hair out, slowly and gently moving the brush through her curls. She sighed again. 

“Does that feel alright, Sassenach?”

“Hmmmmm…yes.” She nearly dozed off, reveling in the feel of him working his fingers through the hair on her scalp, easing out the tangles and brushing it. She felt him gather pieces of her hair up and pin them up on her head. When he had finished, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. His hands moved forward, down her shoulders and to her breasts. He traced the areola of both breasts, watching as the nipples tightened and swelled beneath his fingers. Claire arched her back and sighed again. 

He pulled back, his wits returning. “Christ Claire, ye could tempt the devil himself.” He stood up abruptly. “I’ll leave ye to it.” 

He walked out the door, then turned back. “You stay as long as ye need. I’ll see to breakfast. When yer ready, we can walk down to Will and Mary’s together.”

Claire nodded and closed her eyes again. She had a feeling today would be a long, long day.

**********

Claire had a busy morning ahead of her. Mary had so much to teach her, but she was a good student and learned quickly. When Mary purposely tried to trip her up, Claire would catch her and correct her (“No! That should be two eggs, not one, Mary!”). They had even had time to bake a batch of cookies that smelled heavenly. 

Mary hadn’t missed the looks Claire gave Jamie through the window as she spotted him in the yard. “Claire, why don’t ye take some coffee and a few of these cookies out to Jamie. Then ye can send Will inside. He’ll want some, too, I imagine.”

Claire gathered everything and smiled as she headed out the door in search of Jamie. She had seen him disappear into the barn before Mary caught her staring out the window so she looked there first. She found Will and Jamie there, spreading fresh hay around the barn floor. 

“Will, Mary said to have you come in for a bit. She has fresh cookies out of the oven and coffee.”

Will stopped raking hay and wiped his brow. “Are they the buttery kind with strawberry jam?”

“Why, yes, they are. And I made them!” Claire preened a bit, proud to say she’d made them and had done well, according to Mary.

“Weel! I’ll just have to go see about that straight away then!” Will propped the rake up against the wall and took off toward the house. 

“Mrs. Fraser, could ye spare one of those cookies for me? I’m mighty parched and starvin’ somethin’ fierce.” He propped his hay rake up beside Will’s and walked over to her. She sat her tray on a hay bale and sat down, patting the spot beside her. 

“I might be talked into sharing with you, Mr. Fraser.”

He sat beside her, grabbed a cookie and ate it in one bite. She passed him his coffee and he took a drink, then sat it down. She sipped daintily at her’s. Jamie watched her take a bite of her cookie, his eyes staring at her mouth. When she finished, he reached up and touched her mouth with a finger. 

“Ye have a wee crumb, just here.” He leaned in and kissed her, licking the crumb away with his tongue. 

“And, mmmmm…a wee bit o’ strawberry jam…just…here.” He licked the other side of her mouth and kissed the spot. 

Claire giggled, “Why Mr. Fraser. I don’t believe for a minute that I have cookie all over my face like a child. I think you are just making excuses to kiss me.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her, his voice lowering seductively. “Ohhhh, Sassenach. I definitely am.” He took her coffee cup from her and placed it back on the tray. “I’ve been making up excuses all morning to find a way to kiss ye senseless.”

He leaned in and kissed her softly at first. But it didn’t take long for arms to wind around each other tightly. For breathing to quicken and hitch. For tongues to twine around each other. For deep moans to accompany wandering hands. Jamie had nearly been to the point of pulling her up to lean into her slight frame and grind hips together when his brother arrived.

“Ho! Now, now! None o’ that! Ye’ll make the cattle go off their feed!” Will laughed at Jamie’s red face. “Ye can snog yer wife later, brother. Ye still have all this hay to spread.”

Claire quickly gathered up her tray. She glanced at Will, then back to Jamie and kissed him on the cheek and took off for the house. As she left the barn, she heard Jamie and Will banter back and forth, followed by Will’s uproarious laughter. 

**********

For the rest of the day, it went much the same. Jamie waited for Mary to go out to gather chicken eggs and snuck into the house. He came upon Claire churning butter. She had loosened her collar and had a trace of dewy sweat on her face and neck. She hadn’t yet seen him. He stood in the doorway, watching her arms move up and down, her breasts swaying as she bounced up and down working at the churn. Claire stopped and wiped her brow, stretching her back. That’s when she spotted Jamie watching her with lust in his eyes. 

He stalked up to her, as she watched wide-eyed. He came right up to her and backed her up against the wall and took her mouth. His hips ground into hers, his hands wound tightly into her hair, still pinned up as he had left it that morning. She breathlessly gave back all that he gave her. Her hand lowered from his waist down to his arse and squeezed. He bucked into her, giving a deep, low growl in his throat. 

“I said, ‘MY! The chickens laid quite a few eggs this morning!’ in case ye didn’t hear me the first two times.”

Jamie pulled away from Claire, chest heaving. Mary calmly walked to place her egg basket on the counter. Claire reddened from her neck all the way to her hairline. Jamie booped her on the nose and chin and turned, returning to the barn. 

Claire pushed the loose lock of hair behind her ear and returned to her butter churn, grinning.

**********

All through lunch, Claire noticed Jamie staring at her with longing in his eyes. Truthfully, Claire was certain she had the same look. They had been sneaking kisses and embraces at every chance that they could get. Both Will and Mary had noticed. 

Earlier, Mary had broached the subject of her wedding night and how things went “without details, if ye please!”. Claire had shyly talked of how it went and told of how something as little as Jamie brushing her hair had melted her heart. Mary said that Will did that for her at times, too. She told of how they had brushed their own mother’s hair. “Ellen loved her wee bairns and they loved her, too. She let them brush her long, red hair. She always talked fondly of how gentle they were and how they’d often fight over who got to do the brushing.” 

Claire could picture it. Will and Jamie vying for their mother’s attention, vexing their mother, yet wanting to please her. 

Mary soon had the conversation switched over to more intimate matters. Claire took the chance to ask a few more questions. Mary alluded to a few more things that she and Will enjoyed. Mary even told her of a few things that she didn’t at all believe. She blushed at the idea. But maybe…

During lunch, she kept picturing Jamie doing the things that Mary told her of. And picturing her reciprocating. She wasn’t at all sure if she was picturing them correctly, given that Mary didn’t go into detail on the idea of it all, but she got the idea. Jamie might know more. Not that she’d ever dream of asking. The very idea made her face and cheeks heat up. 

She stole another glance at Jamie. He noticed her glass face. He looked at her smugly as if he knew exactly what she was picturing in her mind. 

Will sat his glass of water down on the table with a thud. “Will ye two get on home and get it out o’ yer system already? I cannae stand another minute of watching Jamie sit here and drool all over Mary’s nice tablecloth whilst makin’ calf eyes at Claire!” 

Mary put in, “Why, Jamie practically fell over himself earlier when he was spying on Claire churnin’ butter through the window. I finally had to leave the room to go gather eggs for fear my delicate sensibilities would be shocked.”

Will snorted and laughed, nearly choking on his water. “Ye don’t say? Butter churnin’, eh? Weel, weel…maybe ye can show me exactly what went on in great detail…”

Jamie stood up and interrupted, “Seeing as how my brother is a complete ARSE, I’ll just take my wife on home now. Good day to both of ye. Come on Sassenach.”

As they left they heard peels of laughter. And then Will’s voice, “Now about that butter churn…”

**********

Claire wasn’t at all sure they’d make it up the hill to the house. Jamie stopped her and ravished her mouth as soon as they were out of sight of Will and Mary’s. They’d stop, walk a few more steps and then begin all over again. Jamie told her that he’d been thinking of this all day. Claire told him that Mary mentioned something particularly interesting that she wanted to know more about. 

Jamie grabbed her hand and took off at a run for the house.

**********

They barely made it in the door. Jamie slammed it, and pushed Claire up against the door, kissing her and pushing his hips up against hers. She could feel his length pressing against her pelvis. He pulled away.

“Tell me about what Mary said.”

“Oh Jamie, I can’t. It’s too…”

He kissed her on the neck, working his way up to her ear. He whispered huskily, “Tell me.”

“Well, she said we can *ermph* with…with…our mouths. I didn’t believe her, but she swears to me…”

Jamie grabbed her hand and sprinted up the stairs.

**********

As soon as they got to Jamie’s room, they tore off each other’s clothes between heated kisses. 

“Is that what ye were thinking about at lunch, then, Sassenach? About what I could do to ye with my mouth? What ye could do to me with yer mouth?”

She nodded, breathless.

“Do ye want to try it? Will told me how to go about it. He said ye’d like it.”

“That’s what Mary said. She said you’d lose your mind. I’d quite like to see that.”

“I expect sae.” He kissed her one last time and then walked backward with her to the bed. “I wanted to do this wi’ ye ever since Will told me of it.” Jamie tossed the covers down on the bed and lay down, motioning Claire over. He guided her into position on top of him. He kissed her hard, grabbing the cheeks of her bottom and squeezing them, moulding her body to his. 

“Christ, Claire…ye haven’t even touched me and I’m nearly ready to explode!” 

She kissed him again, then turned around and inched her way down his body, kissing and licking him lightly along the path to her destination. The closer she got, the more his muscles tightened in anticipation. She didn’t have any idea if she was doing this properly, but she could tell when he liked something, so she let that be her guide. 

She hadn’t had a lot of time to explore him last night. The closer she got, she could see the veins straining on his erection, the tip dark, leaking a bit of clear liquid. She timidly reached for him and found him to be both soft to the touch, yet hard as marble. As she slid her hand down his length, he let out a loud whoosh and his hips lifted. She did it again. And again. 

Taking a deep breath, finding her courage, she leaned over and lightly licked the very tip of him, while listening and feeling his response to guide her along the way. She noticed his body had tensed up and his hips lifted. She took that as a good thing. He tasted sweet, yet a bit salty…an indescribable taste, really. Slipping more of the tip into her mouth, she closed her mouth around him a bit tighter. He slowly pushed up and more of him entered her mouth. He groaned deep in his throat. He did it slowly again, guiding her mouth and then it dawned on her. 

Oh. She knew what to do. Mary had said she would.

She slid further, relaxing her throat a bit so as not to gag, and took as much in as she could. He bucked his hips, whilst restraining his strength as much as he could, and grabbed her hair with both hands. He let out an animalistic sound that encouraged her to go faster. 

“Oh God! Oh Claire! He pulled her on top of him, making her straddle his shoulders. She was startled when she felt his tongue go right to her core and lick her on the most intimate of places. She tried to close her legs but he wouldn’t let her. Her mouth held slack, she could no longer continue her assault on Jamie. Mary had not mentioned this part!

He pressed on and explored her folds, licking and kissing alternately. But then he found that special spot between her legs and he latched onto it and sucked. To say she saw stars was a gross understatement. She had never experienced anything quite so strongly. She couldn’t help the scream that came out of her mouth. 

He pulled away and breathlessly commanded, “Take me in yer mouth as I take ye, Claire!”

She wasn’t sure if she had the ability to keep going with his mouth upon her, but she wanted to try. Renewing her assault, she swiftly took him in and slid down as far as she could. She felt him hold her open with his fingers and placed his mouth back on the spot that drove her wild. She increased the suction on him just as he hit the spot and she moaned, vibrating around him. 

He pulled back and ground out, “God Claire, do that again and don’t stop!”

He latched back onto the spot and sucked harder, licking and teasing. Claire moved faster on him, moving her hand down between his legs to explore the softer bits of him. She was so close, it was hard to concentrate on both things at once. Jamie then slid two fingers inside her and she felt her inner muscles grip them. 

Claire couldn’t stop the sounds she was making in her throat. She felt Jamie let out a strangled cry and he gripped her hair and tried to pull her back. But she didn’t feel that as her climax hit her full on at that exact moment. She let out a cry and gripped Jamie at the root harder. That, combined with her release led to his own. It was a surprise when she felt him pulse and explode in her mouth. She didn’t even think as she swallowed. 

Falling away from each other, dazed, trying to catch their breath, Jamie finally reached for her and brought her into his arms, holding her close. 

“I’m sorry, Claire. I didnae mean to do that in yer mouth. I tried to pull away. I hope ye dinna think me a beast.”

She reached up and slid a finger along his mouth that was slick with her moisture. He took her finger and sucked it into his mouth, licking her essence. 

“I don’t think you are a beast,” she said. “I think I quite liked the experience.”

He kissed her deeply. She could taste herself on his tongue, another experience that she had never considered. She wondered if he could taste himself.

Pulling away, she looked into his eyes. He looked as if he wanted to say something to her but held back. 

Then he said, “Do ye feel it? What it is between us?”

She did. She very much did. She had no idea how it happened, but it did. 

“I do, Jamie. What do you think it is?”

He smiled and stroked her cheek, then her hair. He pulled her close to him, both quickly falling to sleep with exhaustion.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We left off with our newlyweds doing a little bit of…er…shall we say “experimenting”? Now on to some more domesticated stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this certainly took a turn that I didn’t expect! I honestly had no idea where I’d take this chapter. It’s a wee bit angsty. But you don’t have to hide in the bathroom stall at work for this chapter. lol! There is another note at the end, but I won’t put it up here so as not to spoil anything.

Over the next few weeks, they settled into a routine. Jamie did chores on their farm or at Will’s. Claire learned what she needed to know about housekeeping and cooking from Mary. She was now mostly on her own at the house, being a fast learner. She still enjoyed walking down to Mary’s for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie. She was even comfortable enough having Mary over to entertain, too. **  
**

Mary had been quite tired lately, thanks to the baby, so she had been begging off visits, opting for naps instead. Claire could hardly blame her, but did miss their chats.

That morning, Jamie was off to help Will with chores down the hill, so Claire was alone for the day. It was one of the first days that Claire had been by herself for the entire day. 

She set about baking some bread and had just removed some cookies from the oven. She had been humming a tuneless tune while dusting in the parlor when she heard Clarence the donkey announce a presence in the farmyard. 

She hadn’t been expecting anyone but quickly finished her dusting, in case company had come calling. Quickly putting the rag and polish away, she tidied herself and checked her hair in the hall mirror. She had already tidied up the kitchen from her morning baking, so there wasn’t a mess in there. 

She waited for the knock on the door. Nothing happened. She frowned at the door.

She waited another minute. Still nothing. But Clarence told her loud and clear that someone was, in fact, here. 

Cautiously, she tip-toed to the window and peeked through the curtains. She didn’t see anyone in the yard. But Clarence was still braying. He apparently knew something she didn’t. 

She went to the back door and glanced out the window. Nothing there either. Turning about, she nearly had the fright of her life.

Three Indian braves were standing inside her front door. 

Her heart pounded in her chest. Jamie hadn’t really talked much about the local Indians to her, but did tell her that most of them had seemed friendly enough. She had, of course, heard and read sensationalized stories in the newspapers in Boston. 

She stood there, deciding to wait for them to make the first move. She couldn’t have moved an inch, anyway. 

They spoke to each other in some stilted language that she didn’t understand. She stared at them, wide-eyed, taking in their appearance. Their heads were bald, except for a long patch of hair along the crown of their heads. That patch of hair was gathered and surrounded by a plume of brightly colored feathers. Each of them were bare-chested, wearing only breeches of deer hide. They each held a bow in their hands with a pack of arrows strapped to their backs. They didn’t seem threatening, but she was still wary of them. One was tall and thin. One was short and closely resembled the tall one. The other was stocky and had a scar on his cheek.

The tallest of them walked over to the table and picked up one of the cookies that she had laid out on a towel on the table to cool. He brought it to his nose and sniffed it. Examining it, he broke it in half, sniffing it again. The other two braves, glancing at her, walked over to the table. The short one spoke to the tall one and took a piece in his hand, examining it, too. Sniffing it, he turned it over and over in his hands. The scarred one picked a cookie up and did likewise. 

The tall one looked up at her and said something, motioning to her. She shook her head, not understanding. He held the cookie out, pointed to it. More grunting and halted speech. 

She made a motion with her hands, bringing an invisible cookie in her hand to her mouth to eat it. Then she motioned at them to try the cookie.

They all three watched her curiously. The scarred one tentatively brought the butter cookie to his mouth and took a small nibble of it. The others watched him closely. As the scarred one chewed, his eyes opened wider, seeming to like the taste of the cookie. He opened his mouth and crammed the entire cookie in his mouth and chewed, motioning for the others to eat. 

They ate appreciatively until they had eaten nearly all the cookies on the table. The rest were gathered up and put in a knapsack. Tall Man, as she coined him, then began to scout around the kitchen. He tore off a piece of the bread and ate it. Short Man pulled off a piece as well, then stuffed it in his knapsack. Scarred Man was sampling a bit of the strawberry jam that Mary had given her. He dipped a finger in the jar, then sucked it off. It went directly into his knapsack. Short Man was examining her cup of coffee that she had sitting on the counter, which had likely gone cold. He took a drink of it, then sputtered and spat it back out. Tall Man laughed at him and said something in a rapid language, broken by intermittent laughter. 

Claire didn’t feel threatened, but was wary all the same. She imagined they were out scouting for food and were hungry. Cautiously, she walked slowly to the water bucket and carried it over to them. They watched her lift the water ladle to her mouth and drink from it. She then filled the ladle and offered it to Short Man. 

He looked in the ladle and, recognizing it to be water, took a drink. Claire stepped back into the hallway as they all three quenched their thirst. Soon enough, Tall Man said something to them and they walked out the door. Claire ran to the window and watched them leave, walking over to three horses that were hidden in the trees by the back of the barn. She saw that Scarred Man and Short Man had mounted their horses and rode away. Tall Man was digging in a pouch attached to his horse. He pulled out something and began walking back to the house. 

Before Claire could even react, he was in the doorway again. Claire stood with her back to the wall. He walked up to her and said something to her. He handed her a beaded wampum necklace. 

She looked at it in his hand. He motioned for her to take it. She edged slowly toward him. When she was close enough to take it from him, his hand reached out and touched her hair. Her curls were escaping from her bun. He pulled one thick curl down and watched it bounce back up into a tight curl. Reaching up, he gently tugged more of her hair down. He tugged at it, pulling it straight, then released it, watching it spiral back into a corkscrew. 

He was fascinated by her curly hair. She supposed he’d never seen the like before. She looked up at him and he met her eyes. 

“Wolf Eyes.” He pointed to her, saying in halting English. She had heard her whisky-colored eyes called many things before but never that.

He took the necklace from her and put it on her. Looking at it, he nodded, then walked out the door and was gone.

Exhaling the breath she held, Claire slid down the wall to the floor.

**********

“Sassenach, I just came home tae see if ye…Claire?!” He found her there on the floor where she had remained for some time. 

Kneeling beside her, taking her hand, he looked her over urgently, checking to see if she was hurt. “Sassenach, what happened? What’s wrong?”

She looked at him, suddenly aware that he was there hovering over her with a worried look on his face. 

“Claire! What is it? Are ye hurt?”

She shook her head. “No. I just…well, I just had a bit of a shock is all. I’m alright.” She stood up with Jamie’s assistance. “We had some visitors.”

Jamie got extremely quiet. “What sort o’ visitors?”

“There were three Indians here. I think they were hungry. They took everything that I had made this morning and drank half a bucket of water. Before they left, one of them gave me this.” She motioned to her necklace. 

Jamie looked at the necklace and asked quietly, “Did they harm ye?” He brushed the hair out of her face that Tall Man had pulled down. 

“No. Not at all. One was fascinated with my hair. He kept pulling at it and watching it curl back up. I think he named me ‘Wolf Eyes’. They seemed friendly enough.”

Jamie visibly relaxed. “Ye ken not all o’ them are friendly? They are nae happy that the white settlers have taken their land from them. The local tribes trade wi’ us and seem friendly enough as long as we leave them to theirs but there is unrest. Ye must be careful, Claire. I suppose that is my fault fer no’ tellin’ ye, though.”

He pulled her in close and hugged her tightly, thankful that she was unharmed. “I’ll no’ be leavin’ ye alone here anymore. Ye’ll come wi’ me when I go to help Will.”

“But Jamie, they really weren’t…”

“I’ll hear no’ more about it, Claire. Ye’ll do as I say.”

**********

From then on, Claire accompanied Jamie each time he left the farm. When Jamie told Will what had happened, he had Mary stay with him as well. They were well aware that the local tribe was friendly enough, but tribes that were relocating during the winter or summer months often passed through. Not all of them were as friendly. From Claire’s description of them, the three braves were from the local tribe. Jamie and Will still preferred to be vigilant. Having had their land torn away from them by the British years ago, they could understand the rage that the natives were feeling toward the settlers. 

Claire had been studying the medicinal use of herbs prior to coming to the frontier and she had taken advantage of that knowledge to start collecting herbs and roots around the farm in her free time. She had always been under the watchful eye of either Jamie or Will and had never wandered off far. Mary had laid down for a nap after lunch and Claire decided to go behind the house to explore along the path, within yelling distance of Jamie and Will.

Today, though, she had ventured a little further off the beaten path when she ran across some chamomile growing wild that would be helpful for Mary’s pregnancy. She was gathering it and had been following the trail of the herb when she noticed she wasn’t familiar with her surroundings. She looked around, searching for anything she recognized. Thinking she would just follow the trail of herbs that she’d picked back to the path, she quickly realized that that wasn’t helpful, either. 

She was lost. 

Jamie had taught her how to follow the sun, but there was no sun today. The sky was covered in a thick layer of clouds. She looked around for any hint of a path that she had left behind but turned up nothing. 

She finally decided she’d just go in the general direction that she thought she had come from. It soon became apparent to her that she truly had no idea where she was. In the timber, it is easy to get lost, getting your directions twisted around. Jamie had often warned her to beware. She truly hadn’t meant to go so deep into the timber. 

She sat down on a fallen log for a minute to rest when she heard a noise close by. She quickly stood and looked around. She didn’t see anything, nor did she spot anything up in the trees. Feeling uneasy, she continued on.

It wasn’t long before she came across a stream of clear, running water. She bent over to get a drink and splashed a bit of the cool water on her face. It came to her then that Jamie’s farm was situated alongside a stream. Maybe if she followed the stream she’d find her way home.

Following the twists and turns of the stream weren’t as easy as she had thought. She often was startled by the wildlife. Deer were plentiful here and scampered into the thick timber as she appeared. Birds were frightened from their perches in the lower branches. She even saw a family of racoons feasting on a fish at the water’s edge, meticulously washing their food before eating. 

What she didn’t see was the coyote following her every move. Each time Claire bent down to look for signs of her having been this way before, the coyote moved in closer and closer. It was when Claire had stopped along the stream to get another drink that the coyote made its move. As she stood up to continue along her way, she saw the coyote standing there in the clearing, it’s back hunched up, growling and showing its teeth. 

Claire had never seen the likes before. She had heard of wolves and such on the frontier, but had never seen one, not realizing that this was in fact a coyote. She took a step backwards. With each backward step, the coyote advanced, stalking her. She didn’t dare take her eyes off the animal, but was afraid of where she was stepping, not being familiar with her surroundings. 

It was then that Claire tripped over a boulder and landed on her bottom down into the stream. The coyote had his prey exactly where he wanted her. She tried to stand but couldn’t as her dress was caught on a thorny branch hanging low above the water. She pulled at it furiously as the coyote approached her. Standing two feet from her, she saw it crouch down onto its haunches, preparing to spring out and attack. More frightened than she’d ever before been, Claire tightly squeezed her eyes closed. 

She heard a high-pitched yowl and then a splash of water. 

She opened her eyes and saw the coyote in front of her, an arrow piercing it in a lethal spot. To her left, just outside of the clearing stood Tall Man, his bow hanging at his side.

Claire had never been one to swoon before. Black spots flooded her eyes. And she passed out cold.

**********

As Claire was coming to, becoming aware of her surroundings, she felt the gentle sway of being on horseback and someone holding her with a strong, lean arm. Her senses were then assaulted with smells. The smell of a campfire clinging to clothes. The strong smell of sweat and the woods. A smell that was unidentifiable to her…almost gamey. 

Then she heard Jamie calling her name from afar. 

“God almighty! CLAIRE!” 

She blinked her eyes open and looked up to see Tall Man holding her with his free arm, his eyes on her husband. Jamie was running toward them, a rifle pointed directly at them.

“Take yer hands off my wife!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bit about the coyote is about halfway what happened to me. I was out walking a dirt road and spotted a coyote in the field. He saw me. I decided to just keep walking, trying to mind my own business. He followed/stalked me the entire way home, coming closer when I tried to speed up. My ferocious farm dog was barking up a storm from the yard (we have an electric fence…she is herding dog and can run off). Luckily, I made it home. But you can bet I won’t ever do that again! 
> 
> Also, the local Native Americans that used to live on our land were deemed friendly by the pioneers and settlers. I’m sticking with that. They often traded with the settlers and would often enter cabins and take food and supplies. However, they almost always left a like trade in return.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, we left off with Claire getting struck by the stupid stick, finding herself lost in the timber (yes, by the way, the prairie does have a wee bit of timber!). A coyote was about to attack her when Tall Man, who was following her, shot it dead with his bow and arrow. Claire passed out cold, Tall Man picked her up and took her home. Jamie found them and demanded that Tall Man take his hands off his wife. And we’re off!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is totally NSFW. You have been warned! If that isn't your thing, you can read the first little bit and then exit out the side door. For the rest of you, all about the Fluff 'n Smut Express! All aboard!

Claire gasped when she saw Jamie pointing a rifle at Tall Man. She knew that he had saved her from a most unpleasant run-in with that creature. **  
**

Jamie cocked his gun. “Put her down! No one will get hurt if ye let her go.”

Claire looked over her shoulder at Tall Man. He looked at Jamie, amused. “You teach your woman to track better.” He got off his horse, then reached for Claire to lower her to the ground. “Wolf Eyes lost. Coyote attacked.” He motioned to his chest and the dead coyote laying across the back of the horse. “I kill.” He looked at Claire and reached up to pull a loose lock of hair, watching it spring back. He smiled and shook his head. Without another word, he mounted his horse and rode off. 

They watched, stunned, as he rode away. Jamie finally found his voice, most of which was in that foreign language that Claire didn’t understand.

“Christ, Sassenach! What happened?” He sat his rifle on the ground and ran to Claire, holding her tight to him.

“He saved me. I was looking for herbs and had gotten careless with my direction. I was trying to follow the stream back in hopes that I’d find something I recognized. I came across that animal and it started to leap on me, but Tall Man killed it with his bow and arrow before it reached me.”

Another stream of unrecognizable language came from Jamie. 

“What are you saying and what is that language?”

“It’s Gaidhlig. And no, I willna be tellin’ ye what I said! Why in hell were ye that far from home? Have I no’ told ye to be mindful where ye are? It’s dangerous out there, Claire! Christ almighty! Ye gave me a fright! Dinnae ever do that again!” He shook her lightly by the shoulders, then pulled her to him again. 

In a small voice, Claire whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Ach, dinnae worry.” He pushed the fallen lock of hair behind her ear. “But I dinnae mind sayin’ that I didnae like seein’ that man with his hands on ye! Ye called him ‘Tall Man’?”

“Oh Jamie, it wasn’t anything like that,” Claire scoffed. “You see, when I saw that creature jump at me and then Tall Man appeared out of nowhere and killed it, I…I…well, I swooned. Passed right out on the edge of the stream. He picked me up and brought me home. He knew where we lived because he was one of the visitors we had. I nicknamed him Tall Man because he was tall. There was also Short Man and Scarred Man. They didn’t formally introduce themselves, you know,” Claire smarted off, irritated.

“Weel, I dinnae like the way he was lookin’ at ye! Touchin’ yer hair, holdin’ ye too close.”

“Well, I don’t like the way that you are insinuating that something untoward happened!”

“I didnae say any such thing!”

“You certainly implied it!”

“Weel, if ye’d have minded me and stayed to the path, ye’d no’ have had an Indian pawin’ ye…”

“WHAT!? Are you saying it’s my fault?!” 

“AYE! I AM!”

“How dare you!” Claire shoved Jamie as hard as she could. That seemed to stop him in his tracks. He stood there, glaring at her, panting. And then as suddenly as the wind switches directions, he blinked twice and his whole demeanor changed. Claire frowned.

He was looking at her with such a look of desire. His long, fiery hair had fallen from it’s leather strap, tumbling around his face. He was still panting for air, but he looked anything but mad. He looked…aggressively masculine.

Claire took a step back.

He advanced. 

She took another step back. He matched it. He raised his chin and looked at her from hooded eyes. She took one more step, backing right into a tree.

His look was not unlike the coyote that had stalked her in the woods. His eyes, unblinking, were watching her. 

And then he pounced. She squealed, but he silenced it with his mouth on hers. He didn’t just kiss her. He consumed her. He drew in each breath she exhaled from her mouth and made it his own. Their teeth and tongues clashed, their bodies battling to get closer. 

He reached down and yanked up her skirts then undid his trousers. Lifting her, he braced her against the tree, then rammed home. She gave a wail that inflamed him and pushed him further over the edge. He took her and he took her hard. 

He wrenched his mouth from hers and latched onto her neck, sucking and biting, sending jolts of pure fire down her spine. He nuzzled up to her ear and spoke low, nearly growling.

“Ye’re mine…Sassenach. Mine. Now and forever!” He bit her ear lobe and she felt sparks erupt low in her belly where he was joined with her. “Say it! Yer mine!”

Claire panted out, “I’m yours. Always!” She grabbed his face and brought it to hers, a hand snaking behind to grab onto his loose curls. “And you are mine! YOU say it! MINE!” She jerked his hair. 

He howled and shoved deeper inside her. “Aye, I’m yers. Ye damned witch!” 

He kissed her hard and snaked a hand up between them, roughly palming her breast. She cried out again when he found her hardened nipple and took it between his fingers. Their hips were slamming against each other, losing their timing as they climbed nearer to their climax. His fingers squeezed her nipple and her hips rammed home, grinding against him. Heat flowed through her limbs and her eyes closed, her head thrown back as she exploded in a flood of light. She heard Jamie roar and he pinned her to the tree, bucked once more into her and burst with her.

**********

Jamie held her in his lap on the ground. Claire didn’t think she’d ever be able to stand and walk after that. She was content right where she was. 

Jamie finally whispered, “I’m sorry, Claire. I shouldna have mistreated ye that way.”

She looked up at him, his face full of shame. Reaching up to stroke the hair out of his face, she whispered back, “You didn’t mistreat me. I’m the one who should be sorry. I didn’t heed your warnings.”

He closed his eyes and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. “I was so frightened for ye, Claire. I thought…I thought…”

She pulled back, stroking his face. “I’m alright.”

“I wasn’t too rough wi’ ye? Did I hurt ye?”

“No.”

“I dinnae ken what came over me. I just…I just…”

“I know.” She ran her fingers through his hair.

“Claire, I…I…,” he took a deep breath, then tried again in a small voice. “I love ye.”

Claire drew in deep breath. She didn’t know it before, but that was all she ever wanted to hear in life. Her heart was filled and overflowed. She closed her eyes and smiled. She wanted to remember this exact moment forever. 

When she opened her eyes, looking into his own sky blue eyes, she whispered back, “And I love you, too.”

**********

At dusk, when Claire’s belly growled ferociously, Jamie carried her back to the house and set about taking care of her. He put on water to boil for a bath and quickly fixed her something to eat. When she had eaten every bite, he refilled her plate. She ate all that, too. He took down her hair and began to remove twigs, leaves, and prickly, dry sticktights from her long curls. As he combed through her hair with his long, gentle fingers, she closed her eyes, relaxing to the feel of his hands on her scalp. 

When her bath water was ready, he hauled buckets to fill the tub, then hung up the sheets so she could have some privacy, heading out to do the evening chores.

She quickly shed her filthy clothes behind the sheets and sank into the tub. She sat there for a time, soaking, recalling when Jamie told her he loved her. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. 

She loved him. She didn’t know when that had happened, but she did. She loved him. 

As she recalled how he loved her roughly against the tree, that grin became bigger. She recalled how each and every bruise and scrape happened. She had even spotted the mark on her neck in the hall mirror and shivered as she recalled his lips hot on her neck, biting, sucking and licking. 

She felt the beginnings of desire stirring within her again. She quickly finished washing her hair, wrapping it in a towel, then began to run the soap over her body. She ran the bar over her skin, scrubbing at the dirty spots and soothing the sore places. All the while her mind kept going back to Jamie. She lathered up her hands and ran them over her chest. She cupped her left breast – the one Jamie had squeezed in the timber – just as he had. Her fingers twitched as she remembered how he squeezed the nipple. She slowly squeezed her own fingers and let the sensation fill her. She brought her other hand up to her right breast and squeezed. 

She’d never explored such as this. Ever. Jamie had awakened the feelings of desire hidden deep within her. Feeling brave, she slid her right hand down deeper into the water, between her legs. Her fingers explored the crevices, setting the nerve endings on fire. She found a particularly sensitive spot that had swollen with her explorations. 

It was then that she felt a cool breeze drift across her and heard the door softly close. She heard Jamie slowly walk over to the opening in the sheets hung from the rope, then he hesitated. 

The hairs rose on the back of her neck. She knew in that minute that he was watching her. 

The vixen within her decided to give him something to see. 

She reached for the bar of soap in the dish and lathered her hands up good. She slid a bit further down in the tub and stuck a long, slender leg up in the air and slowly slid her lathered hands up and down its length. She did likewise with the other. Her lathered hands slid across her arms and along her neck and shoulders. 

Lathering her hands once more, she sat up a bit in the tub and ran her hands down to her breasts. She arched her back, giving him what she hoped was a bit of a better view of the proceedings. Her fingers glided back and forth over the nipples, making them stand up erect. As she explored further, she discovered the burst of sensation that bloomed deep in her womb when she gently pinched. 

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the edge of the tub. She opened her right eye just the barest bit and saw Jamie staring, mesmerized. His mouth was open, his chest heaving. 

He certainly seemed to be enjoying the view. That goaded her to brave the next step.

She picked up the bar and lathered once more, then slid her hand between her legs. She found the spot that was overly sensitive once more and slowly rubbed it like Jamie had. Her back arched and her hips rose. Her fingers slid a bit further down and explored the opening, feeling the slickness that was there, despite the water. She couldn’t help the moan that escaped her. 

“Do ye need help wi’ that, Sassenach?” She was exceedingly aware of his presence, but she didn’t know that he had moved closer. 

She opened her eyes and looked up at Jamie. What she saw made her mouth water. 

Standing before he was Jamie. Naked. 

She pulled her legs up and made room for him in the tub. “I suppose I do.” She thought he’d face her and sit at the other end of the tub. But he didn’t. He slid in between her legs, his back to her. 

“Maybe ye could help me wi’ my back.”

“I could. And maybe some other places, too, I’d venture.” 

She slid the leather tie out of his hair and began to wash it, massaging his scalp, drawing deep groans out of him. When she had finished with that, she lathered her hands and ran them along every part of him that she could reach. Everything but the one place she knew he wanted her to, that is. 

She lathered her hands once more and this time, his hips rose as her hands slid down his ribs and stomach. She skated around his groin, skimming his erection and lower. He let his knees fall open to rest against the edge of the tub, allowing her more access, inviting her touch. She explored the softer parts of him, squeezing and softly pulling. She ran her fingernails all the way up to the tip of him, causing his hips to rise up nearly out of the water. A low, deep growl came from somewhere deep down in his throat. 

He slid away from her and turned to face her, pulling her up so she straddled his hips. He reached for the soap and lathered his hands. 

“I suppose ye need someone to lather yer back. Aye?” His voice was the huskiest she’d ever heard it, almost unrecognizable. 

She leaned into his chest and he slid his hands up and down her back. Then lower. He ran his hands across her arse and even into the crevice between. She wiggled, uncomfortable with that particular exploration. 

“Ah-ah-ah, Sassenach. Ye explored. Now, it’s my turn.”

He squeezed and pulled her tight to his hips, grinding against her. “Ye have the roundest arse I’ve ever seen!”

She chose to take that as a compliment, based on the sounds that came from him.

Reaching again for the bar of soap, he lathered and placed his hands on her breasts. “Ye ken, when I saw ye touching yerself like this, Sassenach, I nearly lost all hold of myself. Do ye like this, then?”

He gently pinched her nipples and she arched her back, moaning. 

“So, I suppose ye do, then. Do it again, while I take ye.”

She was so enraptured that she almost missed that last bit. She opened her eyes, blinking.

“What?”

“Ye heard me.” He handed her the bar of soap. “Do it. Now. Just like ye did earlier.”

She timidly took the soap and lathered. This time when she slid her fingers over her breasts, she wasn’t quite as brave, what with him right in front of her. 

He snaked a hand down between them and wrapped his hand around his cock, sliding it slowly up and down. She didn’t think she had ever seen a more erotic sight in her life. It also made her less inhibited. 

“Christ, Claire! I dinna think I can wait any longer. Raise up and take me inside ye!”

She slid down on his length, made slick by the water. 

Suddenly, she realized she was in control. And she liked that. Quite a lot, actually.

She began slowly, setting a steady pace, but soon that pace wasn’t enough. Jamie’s hands had replaced hers on her breasts. He had clearly been watching and taking note of what she liked as he was mimicking what she had been doing.

He leaned in to kiss her deeply, licking and gently biting her lips. Kissing around to her ear, he growled out, “Touch yerself between yer legs, now. I want to watch ye come apart around me like that.”

Fueled by his words, her heart raced as she slithered her right fingers down between them. She touched the place where they were joined, feeling him slide in and out. He let out a long groan. Raising her fingers a bit, she went back to that bundle of nerves that were all but throbbing and circled it with a finger. She looked at Jamie as she moved her hand a bit faster. He was looking at her hand, watching it, barely blinking lest he miss any single second. 

He could feel her muscles tighten around him inside and ground out, “Go faster, Claire. Please!”

She did. Water splashed over the edge onto the towels on the floor as she increased the pace with her hips and her hand. She felt the beginnings of her climax come on and threw her head back, baring her teeth. Crying out, she exploded so hard she saw stars before her eyes. She heard Jamie growl out loud and he thrust up into her twice before falling with her into oblivion.

**********

They lounged there in the water until it became too cool. Finally Jamie rose, coaxing her up and they toweled each other dry, kissing alternatively. Jamie picked the wet towels up from the floor and placed them in a bucket, telling her he’d see to cleaning up in the morning. 

He then carried her to bed.

Before he fell asleep, he said, “Ye are quite the vixen, Claire. God, I love ye.” And then he booped her nose and kissed her. 

She grinned and replied, “I’m a fast learner.” Then she added, “I love you, too.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is FINALLY! So sorry about the delay!
> 
> We left off with our couple…well…they were doing couple-y things. This chapter is not couple-y, unfortunately. Maybe next chapter??

Claire continued to visit Mary for lessons every other day. She quite enjoyed learning new things and especially having Jamie praise her for a job well done when she presented him with the results. Mary had proudly proclaimed her lessons done until fall arrived. She would then teach Claire how to preserve the fruits and vegetables they harvested. She would also learn about butchering and preserving meat, making lard and soap. **  
**

Until then Claire managed on her own and took to visiting in the morning before lunch. Mary’s pregnancy was progressing along as expected. She was slowing down, being ungainly, so Claire often took over her duties for her so that she could rest. As she worked, Mary would often tell her how it felt to be pregnant. 

Mary plopped back on her couch, kicking her feet up and leaning back on an overstuffed pillow with a groan. Claire sat a glass of fresh water on the table by her side and encouraged her to drink it. 

Mary groused, “Ye ken if I drink all that, I’ll just have tae get up and waddle out to the outhouse? This wee bairn is rather fond of bouncing around on my innards.” She leaned further back and grimaced.

Claire hadn’t seen her grimace quite like that, as if in pain. “Mary, are you quite alright? That face you just made didn’t look like your usual discomfort. How long did you say you have, again?”

Mary rolled her eyes, shifting around trying to find a comfortable spot and soon giving up because, well…there wasn’t one. “Och, Claire, I’ll be fine. The doctor said it would be a couple weeks yet. The babe is just rather active right now, ye ken, but it doesna have much room. My back has been hurtin’ something fierce today. Will has been ever so helpful with rubbing my back and my feet each night. But today…I dinnae ken. It’s different, I suppose. It’s like a burning pain.”

Claire looked up sharply. “Mary, do you think that you might be in labor?”

“What? Och, Claire. Nae. Or at least I dinna think so.” Mary stretched again and laid a hand on her extended stomach. 

Claire handed her the glass of water. “Here. Drink this up. It’s important for the baby.”

Claire helped her sit up and Mary drained the glass. She reclined back on the pillow and grabbed Claire’s hand, placing it with hers on her belly.

“Do ye feel that? He kicks me right square in the stomach!”

Claire was thrilled to feel the ripple and thumps where Mary’s hand guided hers. She rested her hand there for a bit then ran it gently down Mary’s abdomen, feeling the baby’s outline settled low into her tummy.

What Claire wasn’t prepared for was Mary arching her back on a groan and feeling her stomach go rock hard beneath her hand. 

“Mary! You ARE in labor! For goodness sake, that’s a contraction! Let me get you to your bed but first, let me call for Will.”

Claire ran to the door and yelled for Will and Jamie, who were in the barn doing chores.

Jamie stuck his head out the door. “Sassenach, what’s the stramash all about?”

“Tell Will to come now! It’s Mary! The baby is coming!”

Jamie’s jaw dropped and seemed struck dumb.

“Jamie! Go!” 

Jamie shook off his shock and bellowed for Will. 

Claire ran back into the house and began to prepare the bed for the birth. Luckily, Mary and Claire had had time to see about preparing extra old quilts, towels, linens for the baby, and an oil cloth to protect the mattress. She quickly stripped the bedding off the bed and prepared it for Mary. She grabbed the large wash pans to hold the soiled cloths.

Jamie poked his head in the bedroom door. “Claire, what can I do? Will is with Mary.”

“Can you bring me fresh water? Also, put several pots of clean water on to boil. Mary and I had nearly everything else prepared so we would only need to see to the water and prepare the bed.”

Claire handed Jamie two ropes. “Would you tie those to the bedposts? That will give her something to hold on to when she bears down.”

Jamie blanched, but complied. 

Will came in, then, a bundle of nerves and asked quietly, “Claire, do ye need me to get the doctor? Mary said that ye’d know what to do.”

“Yes, I think that would be for the best.”

Will started out the door, but Jamie grabbed his arm. “I’ll go, _bhràthair_. You stay here with Mary and Claire. I’ll take Donas and be back before ye ken it.” 

Will looked relieved. “Thank ye, Jamie. Haste ye back!”

Jamie nodded, squeezed his brother on the arm and left.

“Will, would you help me get Mary up here? I think I have everything ready.”

They went back to Mary to find her in the midst of a contraction. 

“Christ, Mary! Are ye alright?!” Will fell to his knees beside her, reaching to tenderly brush her hair out of her face. 

Mary’s face was screwed up in pain, “NO! Ye bam-heided muckle gype!” 

Will sat back on his feet, shocked. “Mary!”

“I’ll just help ye get…”

Mary interrupted, “YE CAN JEST FECK RIGHT OFF!”

Oh dear, Claire thought, it’s further along than she thought. 

Will looked crestfallen at Claire, his face so comical, that Claire couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of her. 

“Will, if you’ll gently pick Mary up after this contraction is over, we need to get her on the bed as soon as possible. I expect this baby is planning to make his or her entrance sooner than we expected.”

Will blanched and quickly scooped up his wife, gingerly moving her to their bedroom. Mary, in the meantime, made no bones about her displeasure at Will manhandling her. 

Claire snorted and ran to grab a pan of water that was boiling in the kitchen. She had just started towards the bedroom when she heard a sharp cry from both Mary and Will, followed by…

“CLAIRE!!!!” 

She ran in to find Mary standing on the floor, her dress tail lifted and legs bowed out, and laughing in hilarity at Will. Will, on the other hand, looked horrified. He was dripping all over the floor…as was Mary.

Mary’s water had broken. All over Will. 

Claire sat the pot of boiling water on the bureau and walked over to Mary. “Here. Let’s get you out of these soaking things and up on the bed before you have that baby right here where you stand.”

She helped Mary strip down and put on the old shift that Mary had laid out in the corner in preparation for the birth. Claire helped Mary onto the bed and settled her in. 

Looking over her shoulder, she told Will to strip off his sodden clothes and put them in the laundry pail in the corner with Mary’s soiled clothes. 

“What? Ye want me to strip to my skivvies right here in front o’ ye?”

Claire rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, you arse. Go in the other room, get cleaned up and then come back in here and hold your wife’s hand until your brother gets here with the doctor. I’m not doing this alone!”

As an afterthought, Claire yelled, “AND WASH YOUR HANDS!”

**********

_30 minutes later_

“I WILL CUT OFF YER BAWBAG WI’ A RUSTY KNIFE MESELF!”

Will looked at Claire, embarrassed. Claire had just checked Mary’s progress and all appeared to be moving along well. She kept a hand on Mary’s abdomen, judging when the contractions hardened her stomach. 

Mary gasped and held to the ropes again as Will rubbed her back. 

“GET YER FECKIN’ HANDS OFF ME YE SHITE! I HOPE YER WEE COCK SHRIVELS UP AND FALLS OFF!”

Will, having become used to Mary’s cursing of his private parts, muttered, “It’s no’ wee.”

Will pushed Mary up enough so that he could rub Mary’s lower back hard, like Claire had shown him. 

Mary groaned through the pain. “Ohhhhh!!! Harder! Fer feck sake! HARDER, WILL!”

Through the noise, Claire had heard a knock on the door. She quickly got up to open the door to find Jamie standing there. 

“What in hell is goin’ on in there, Sassenach?” Jamie looked over his shoulder toward the kitchen and whispered, “It sounds like an orgy!”

Claire laughed at that. “Ironic, eh? Will’s ears are getting blistered for all his efforts in there. Did you find the doctor?”

“Yes. He’s in the kitchen washing up. Shall I send him back to ye when he’s done?”

“Yes. And I’ll be sending Will out to you. Get him a whisky.”

Just then Mary yelled, “AWAY WI’ YE, YE SHITE-HEIDED WANKER!”

Jamie’s eyes widened comically. “I’ll make it a double.”

**********

The doctor entered and shooed Will out. Claire took his place at Mary’s head, holding a cool cloth to her forehead, gentling her with her fingers sweeping through her loosened hair. 

“You’re doing just fine, Mary. Now breathe through this one. You can do it!”

Mary whined weakly, “I cannae do any more, Claire! I cannae!”

Claire looked up at the doctor. He smiled and nodded. “Mrs. Fraser, all is looking just fine. Your baby is almost here! Now I need you to push with all you have.”

Claire helped Mary lift up. “Come on Mary! You want to see that beautiful baby, eh? You have to help it come out! Now, PUSH!”

Mary screamed and arched her back, pushing with all her might. It was all Claire could do to support her and keep her upright. Mary’s thighs shook with the pressure and her nails were digging into the hand that held Claire’s. Claire thought for sure her hands would be bloodied by the time it was all over.

The doctor proclaimed, “I see the head! That’s it Mrs. Fraser! Push again!”

Claire bore down with Mary, as if she herself were giving birth, lending her all her strength. With renewed energy, Mary pushed and swore. 

“I’LL CHOP HIS DROOPY COCK OFF WI’ MY DULL KITCHEN KNIFE!!!”

The doctor smirked, “I’m sure you will, Mrs. Fraser. That was perfect! The head is out. Just one more and your baby will be in your arms!”

Claire felt Mary take a deep breath and she bore down again, nearly pushing Claire over with the strength of it. 

Mary gave off a nearly feral growl, that turned into a scream. 

“He’s here! You have a fine baby boy, Mrs. Fraser!” The newborn boy let out a howl that could have rivaled his mother’s.

Mary collapsed back on the pillow as Claire reached for the blanket with which to wrap the baby. By the time she had all the necessary items, the doctor had the cord cut. Claire quickly wrapped the baby and handed him off to Mary. 

Mary cooed, “Ohhhh! My wee sweet bairn!” She looked at Claire, her eyes streaming with tears.

“Have ye ever seen anything sae bonny, Claire?”

“He’s beautiful, Mary! And such big, blue eyes!” 

The doctor said, “Mrs. Fraser, why don’t you hand your baby off to Claire. She can clean him up and get him ready to see your husband. We have one last bit to see to here and you’ll be done and can rest.”

Mary kissed her son and handed him off. “There ye go. Be good for yer Auntie Claire now.”

Claire had everything prepared, so all was prepared for her to make quick work of the baby’s first bath. She marveled at his ten tiny fingers and ten long toes. The minute he hit the warm water, he let his displeasure be known to everyone in a ten mile radius. 

Claire set about her task as quickly as possible. She put on a fresh, white nappy and wrapped him securely in a clean blanket. She picked him up and cooed at him. 

“There, there now. All done.” She rocked slowly with him, cuddling him close. “Let’s go introduce you to your father and uncle, shall we?”

She stepped out into the hallway and was nearly plowed over by Will followed closely by Jamie, who was holding him back. 

“You have a son and his mama is doing just fine! Congratulations Will!”

Jamie clapped his stunned brother on the shoulder. “A wee son! Congratulations _a bhràthair_!” 

Claire placed Will’s son in his arms and adjusted his hold so that his head and neck were properly supported. She went back to the bedroom to see to Mary and the cleaning.

“He’s sae bonny!” Will’s voice was rough with emotion, a tear trickling down his cheek. Jamie placed his arm around Will and looked at his nephew. 

“He is. He looks like Da, ye ken?” 

Will gulped on a near-sob. “He…he does. He has Da’s dark hair and the Fraser eyes.” 

“What will ye name him?”

“Mary and I decided that if it were a boy, it would be Robert James Brian McKenzie Fraser, tae honor the men in my family. I think we’ll call him Rabbie.”

Jamie’s throat was tight with emotion. He put an arm around his brother and squeezed. “That’s a fine name for a wee man.”

The brothers stood in the hallway, marveling at the newest generation of Fraser men. They talked of how their Mam and Da would be so proud and of how much they missed them, as well as their sister Jenny. 

“Jamie,” Will started, then hesitated. “Do…do ye think Mary meant what she said about me in there? About chopping off my parts and feeding them tae the pigs? Do ye think she really wouldn’t let me touch her again?”

Jamie looked at his brother with amusement. “Are ye serious? Ha’ ye gone off yer heid? Of course she wasna serious, ye big gob. Do ye not remember Jenny when she cursed poor Ian’s parts for the better part of a day when she was having wee Jamie? Ian walked around fer days eyeing Jenny and hiding all the sharp tools before he caught on that Jenny wasna serious.” 

“I suppose. But Mary did seem rather…weel, adamant about it. Ye ken? I love her and would never want tae see her hurt like this again. But how do ye…well…hmph…wi’out makin’ a bairn?” 

“Weel, I guess if we kent that, the Gibson’s down the road wouldna have 13 children.” He elbowed Will and got a laugh out of him. 

Suddenly the baby screwed up his face and once again let his displeasure be known. 

Jamie laughed, “And he yells at ye just as loud as Da did!”

The doctor stepped out just then and said, “Mr. Fraser, all looks like it went just fine. Your wife is ready to see you and I suspect your new baby is ready for his supper!”

**********

Claire finished tending to Mary and left her and Will to have a quiet moment with their new son. She took the laundry out to be sorted as to what was salvageable and what would need to be burned. 

As she saw to her work, she thought about what it would be like to have her own baby. Was she ready to be a mother? Did she even know how? She could barely remember her own mother. Would Jamie even want children? It wasn’t anything they had even discussed. 

She would like to be a mother. She touched her flat stomach, wondering what it would feel like to have a human being that she and Jamie created growing inside her. 

The more she contemplated it, the more she thought that she would really like to experience that.

Just as she had finished up her laundry chores, Will came out of the house. 

“Claire, I want to thank ye for helping Mary and being here for her. I dinna ken what she and I would do wi’out ye.” 

Claire brushed it off. “Oh, it was nothing. Mary did all the hard work.”

Will smiled and hugged her. “I ken she did. But yer part in it was appreciated, all the same.” He looked around the yard. “Do ye ken where Jamie went?”

“He went back to our house. He had to get his gift for his new nephew.” Claire knew Mary would be over the moon when she saw the cradle Jamie had made for them. 

Will nodded. “Weel, I’m going to go out to the barn to finish those chores. Mary is asleep and the bairn is in a basket by her side. Would ye keep an eye on her for a wee bit while I finish up out here?”

“I just finished here. I’ll head in right now.”

**********

Claire found Mary burping Rabbie after his feeding. Claire had checked Mary, just as the doctor had shown her, and was pleased to see that all was well. 

They were both cooing over the baby when Jamie knocked softly on the door.

“Come in,” Mary called.

Jamie walked in carrying the cradle. “How are ye, Mary?”

“Much better than I was a few hours ago. I feel like I could sleep for days!”

Jamie sat the cradle next to Mary on the floor. “I brought ye a wee gift for the bairn. I made it as soon as I heard that ye and Will were expecting.”

“Oh Jamie! It’s so beautiful! Ye always did ha’ a way wi’ yer hands, carvin’ such bonny wee things.”

Jamie colored, pleased that Mary was happy with his creation. She handed the baby off to Claire. “Put wee Rabbie in it. Let’s see how bonny he looks there.”

Claire laid him in the cradle and they all sat and watched him as he slept soundly. Jamie caught Claire’s attention and motioned towards Mary. She was also sound asleep, snoring softly. 

He whispered, “Why don’t we take the bairn out into the parlor so his Mam can get some sleep.”

Claire nodded and picked up the baby. Jamie brought out the cradle so they could lay him in it.

Jamie eyed his wife, holding the bairn and cooing over him, gently stroking his perfect pink cheek. She looked so good standing there. He often pictured her holding their own bairn, just like this. 

He sat the cradle on the floor and went to stand behind Claire, admiring the view. 

“Do ye ever think about…”

“Jamie, what would you say if…”

They both looked up at each other, having spoken simultaneously, and laughed quietly so as not to wake the baby. 

Claire said, “You first.”

Jamie smiled and pushed the curl behind her ear that had fallen loose from her pins. “Do ye ever think about having a bairn of our own? I mean, I ken that we havena been married long and all, but would ye…,” he hesitated. Clearing his throat, he began again, “Would ye like to have one of yer own?”

“Oh Jamie,” Claire whispered. “I would. It terrifies me that I don’t know how to be a mother, but in my heart, I want that more than anything in the world. To start a family with you.”

Jamie gently brought her chin around and he kissed her softly on the lips. “I dinnae ken much about being a father, either Sassenach, but I reckon we can learn together.” 

Claire smiled at him and nodded. She reached up to kiss Jamie again, with increasingly more passion. 

That all came to a complete and utter halt when Rabbie stiffened up and emitted a sound from his lower half that no one would have believed had come from someone as small as a newborn babe. 

Jamie laughed on a snort, “Like father, like son!” 

That’s where Will found them when he came inside, doubled over on the couch, laughing with tears streaming down their faces.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, guess what folks? It’s FINALLY done! And even better? It was so freaking long that I split it in half and you are getting two chapters in one day! This chapter is not too bad, but Chapter 17 is most definitely NSFW. The smut train will meet you at that station! 
> 
> We left off with Mary giving birth to wee Rabbie. This chapter finds Jamie and Claire heading to a neighbor’s house for a dance.

Claire had just finished laying the table for supper when Jamie came in and sat down at the table. He had been gone to town all day, purchasing supplies for the month. **  
**

“How was yer day, Sassenach?”

“Well, I went to Mary’s this morning. She was knitting some booties for Rabbie, so I stayed to learn how.”

“Ye dinnae ken how tae clickit?!”

“Huh?”

“Clickit. Ye called it knitting. I thought everyone could clickit.”

“Well, I never learned. But I’m remedying that. See?”

She passed a rather sorry-looking attempt at a baby booty to Jamie, but he refrained from telling her how bad her first attempt looked. 

“Weel…it…uh…it’s a good try, Sassenach.”

“You’re lying,” Claire said wryly.

“I am.” He snorted and passed her booty (or what passed for a booty) back to her. 

Claire smacked his shoulder. “You just hush. I’ll get better, you’ll see!”

“Weel, it can only improve, Sassenach.” He snorted and let out a whoop of laughter as he ducked when Claire smacked him on the head. 

Claire tossed the knitting back into her basket. She brought two bowls of stew to the table and sat them down, moving to take her place across from Jamie at the table. 

“When I was in town, I saw a flyer for a barn dance at the Miller’s place tomorrow night. They live just a mile to the east of us. What do ye say about going over wi’ me?” 

“Why, I haven’t been dancing in ages! I’d love to go. Do folks dress up for the occasion?”

“Oh, aye. They wear their Sunday best. It’s nae ballroom, ken, but folks still make an effort.”

“What time does it begin?”

“Around 8 o’clock. It ends when they get tired o’ playin’ or they run out of liquor…whichever comes first,” Jamie grinned. 

“I see. Well. It sounds as if it will be a lovely time. Do we take anything?”

“It’s customary to bring a wee snack to share. Cookies, pie, cake…whatever suits ye best.”

“I can make a blueberry pie. I just picked a batch.”

“That sounds fine, Sassenach.”

**********

Mary had come over with Rabbie, blissfully asleep in his basket, to help Claire dress her hair for the evening’s festivities. Will and Mary had opted to sit this one out, given that Mary wasn’t quite up to being out and about just yet. Plus, Rabbie had his own ideas about when he sleeps and it didn’t coincide with Will and Mary’s. 

Mary placed the last pin in Claire’s hair and then stood back to admire her handiwork. “Och, Claire! Ye look just bonny. I wish I could do this to my own hair.”

“I always have trouble doing the back. I can never see what I’m doing back there. And with my hair being so curly and unruly, that makes it twice as difficult. I’m just glad you’re gifted at styling hair.”

She took out her rarely-used powder and dusted her face, then opened a small pot of rouge and touched her lips and cheeks with it. Mary was fascinated with her cosmetics, having never seen them before. Claire showed Mary how to apply it, stressing that less was best. Using too much would mark you as a hussy. 

Mary helped Claire with her red dress, one she hadn’t worn before. She had acquired it in Boston before leaving. She put on her mother’s ruby necklace, which matched her dress perfectly. 

“Oh dear, Claire. Ye canna wear that shift with that dress. The straps show and ruin it.”

Looking in the mirror, she saw that Mary was right. There was no help for it. Take off the shift. 

Mary helped her strip down and start over. She used her good lace-up corset and Mary had laced it up tightly. It felt strange not having her shift on underneath her corset. They wrangled the dress into place and Mary fastened it. Claire shifted the bows on the little cap sleeves into the proper place, just barely hovering on her shoulders. She had to admit it did look much better without the lace of the shift peeking out of the open v-neckline. 

Mary adjusted the skirt and tweaked the thick curl of hair that she had purposely left down so that it fell over her left shoulder. Claire sat down at her mirror to put on her mother’s small ruby ear bobs then dabbed a tiny bit of the expensive French perfume she still had leftover from her days in Boston behind her ears and on her wrists. 

She stood up and then looked at Mary. “Well, what do you think? Will I pass for a Saturday night barn dance? Or is this too much?”

“Oh, Claire! Ye are bonny! Ye look perfect. It’s no’ too much at all!”

“You’re sure? I don’t want to look too…well, uppity. I want to fit in.”

“Ye are just fine!” Mary adjusted her neckline a bit and then kissed her cheek. “I’m just that jealous that ye get to dress up and have a lovely evening when I will likely be asleep in my chair covered in foul-smelling baby spit-up within the hour. I love Rabbie to bits, but ye ken…some days I would love to…” Mary trailed off. “Weel, enough of that. Ye better get downstairs. Jamie will be ready and waiting on ye.”

**********

Jamie checked his pocket watch for the seventeenth time, tapping his fingers on his thigh. Claire and Mary had been locked up in their room for what seemed like hours. They had put all his clothes in the guest room and told him that he was not allowed to enter while they were getting Claire ready. 

He finally heard the door open and Mary came down the stairs to collect Rabbie, where he was peacefully sleeping in the basket beside his Uncle Jamie. 

“Ye should see her, Jamie. She’s sae bonny! Weel, I’m off. Have a lovely evening!” Jamie hugged Mary and placed a wee kiss on Rabbie’s forehead then sent them on their way.

As he turned and looked up at the stairs, his jaw dropped. 

Claire stood at the top. She lifted the hem of her dress and gave him a wee keek of her white silk, embroidered stockings. She wore a red dress with a deeply cut bodice that showed her decolletage to perfection. Nestled between her breasts was a small ruby necklace that drew his attention, not to the necklace itself, but to the swells of flesh below. 

She wore her hair in a fashion that he’d never seen before and it looked as if her face was polished and delicately blushed in all the right places. 

He’d never seen anyone so beautiful in all his life. 

As she got closer to him, he realized just how deeply cut her bodice was. He fidgeted with his trousers, noting the tightness beginning there. Christ, it was going to be a long, hard night. Emphasis on hard. 

**********

Claire was on her third glass of whatever punch they were serving. She was chatting with some ladies from town when she caught a glimpse of Jamie from across the barn. He was drinking a glass of whisky, leaning against the wall and eyeing her over the top of the glass. He clearly wasn’t paying any attention to any of the men around him. 

Claire decided to tease him a bit. 

When the ladies were busy looking the other way at some new arrivals, Claire discretely took a sip of her punch and then quickly licked the rim of the glass. 

His eyes sharpened and his fingers tightened around his glass. 

She glanced around again, checking to see that she wasn’t being watched. 

She dipped her finger in her punch, then raised it to her lips and sucked on it. 

He tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. 

One of the ladies drew her back into the conversation, again. Claire glanced over at Jamie and noticed she still had his rapt attention. She reached up between her bosom and fingered the necklace nestled there. To anyone else, it wouldn’t have been anything of note. But to her husband, it drew his attention to her silky white skin above her bodice. 

Reaching into her pocket, Claire drew out her handkerchief and dabbed delicately at her neck, remarking on how warm it was that night. The ladies all agreed, of course. She purposely let the hankie float to the ground, where she’d have to bend over to retrieve it. 

As she did, she again glanced at Jamie. He was definitely not looking at her eyes. She was all but spilling out of her low-cut bodice. 

Slowly stalking across the barn floor, Jamie weaved in and out of the crowd, making his way over to his wife. He never took his eyes off her. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. 

She dropped her hankie again, this time it slipped accidentally from her fingers. The look he was giving her was all but feral in appearance. He almost unnerved her with his intensity. He swallowed the rest of his whisky and left it at the table he was passing. 

“I believe ye dropped something.”

He swooped down and retrieved her hankie and handed it back to her. She slid it back into her pocket. She took another drink, finishing off her punch. Jamie took the glass from her and placed it on the table behind them. 

“Would ye like to dance, Sassenach?”

“Why yes, I would.”

Jamie took her hand and led her to the floor for a slow waltz. She took her position, where it was appropriate, but Jamie wasn’t having any of that. He pulled her scandalously close to him and began to whisper in her ear. 

“Do ye ken what yer on about, Sassenach?”

“Why, I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir,” Claire returned playfully. She didn’t know what was in that punch, but it was potent. Quite potent, judging from her loose behavior.

As Jamie guided her expertly around the floor, she could feel the tightening of his fingers on her waist and on her hand. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest. And the rise of other things, she was quite certain. She slid her hand from his shoulder around to the back of his neck, where she let her fingers play with his long russet curls.

He leaned to her ear and whispered, “Would ye think it immoral of me tae ask ye to join me for a bit outside in the trees?”

Claire smiled. “Why, sir! For whatever reason would you want to get me outside in the dark?”

“Ohhhh…I can think of a few reasons. I would like to ravish ye out in the trees, ye ken. And maybe see what ye are no’ wearin’ underneath that wee red dress.”

“I see. And would you be showing me what it is that you’re hiding in your pocket?”

“Which pocket is that, Sassenach?”

She discreetly moved her hips up against his, feeling a definite hardening hiding behind his suit coat. 

Claire purred in his ear, “Your front left trouser pocket. I am quite interested in what you’re hiding. Would it be for me?”

Jamie tightened his arm around her and ground against her, disguising the move as a turn on the dance floor. “It is always for ye, Sassenach.” 

He lightly kissed her temple, then moved back to her ear. “Would ye be trying to give me an indecent view of your bosom across the room by dropping yer handkerchief on the floor?”

“Did you look then, sir?”

“I did. I’m quite interested in what ye have under that dress. Or what ye dinna have under that dress.”

“Would you like to see?”

He had maneuvered her nearly to the door and just slightly off the dance floor. But he was stopped. 

Mr. Miller stopped Jamie. “James Fraser! Well, I’ll be! I heard you’d been hitched, but I’d never have believed it, had I not seen it with my own eyes! So this is your bride, eh?”

Mr. Miller looked Claire up and down. Jamie didn’t appear to like the part where Mr. Miller’s eyes lingered a bit too long on her bosom. His eyes narrowing, he said, “Aye. This is my bride, Claire Fraser. Claire, this is Jed Miller.”

Mr. Miller scooped up Claire’s hand and kissed it. “It is lovely to meet you, Mrs. Fraser.” He gestured to the dance floor. “Could I interest you in a turn about the dance floor?”

Claire was speechless for a second, looking at Jamie apologetically. She couldn’t very well turn the host down. Could she? “Why, of course, Mr. Miller. It would be my pleasure.”

Leading her off to the floor, Jamie fumed when he heard Jed Miller say, “Oh noooo, Mrs. Fraser. It is MY pleasure.”

Aiming a dirty look in their direction, he stomped off to find a refill for his whisky. “Pleasure, my arse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17 will post in a few minutes! Go look for it!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: STOP! Have you read Chapter 16 yet? Today is a surprise posting of two chapters in one day! Go read that first before you read this chapter or you’ll miss all the stuff leading up to this point. Also, if you are not really into NSFW stuff you might just read the first part and skip around a bit. The smut train pulled into the station!
> 
> We left off with Jamie and Claire attending a dance at the Miller’s. They tried to sneak off for a little alone time, but you know how things are…poor Jamie. Bless his heart.

Claire had made the rounds with several of the townsfolk on the dance floor when she spied Jamie. He was guiding a young blonde-headed girl across the floor. The girl was flirting and fawning over her husband. Claire noted wryly that the girl kept edging closer to Jamie, but Jamie kept firmly pushing her firmly back into her proper position. 

She caught Jamie’s eye across the floor and tipped her head to the side, her eyebrows raising. He didn’t seem to have any trouble interpreting the look Claire shot him and sent her an apologetic, almost panicked look. 

Completely ignoring their dance partners, Claire and Jamie began a complete conversation with their expressions. A raised eyebrow here; a wink there. A smirk, followed by a sultry half-smile. A full smile brought a knowing look. A blush followed by a tip of the head to the door. A flirty smile followed by raised eyebrows. 

Finally the song ended and further dances were declined, claiming that they needed a breath of fresh air. 

Claire took off toward the barn door and glanced around to see if she could spot Jamie. She knew he was out here somewhere. She walked to the trees, noticing a weeping willow tree among the grouping. She made her way there, ducking underneath the low-hanging branches, and whispered, “Jamie!”

Nothing. She listened sharply for a reply, but heard nothing by the crickets chirping.

“Jamie!”

She was suddenly grabbed and plastered to the tree by a tall, dark figure who was breathing heavily. 

“Jamie?”

“Aye, Sassenach. Were ye expectin’ someone else?” His words were ever so slightly slurred.

“Why, no, I…I…ye startled me is all.”

“Ye talk too much, Sassenach.” 

He brutally kissed her, teeth clashing, tongues tangling. He pushed her hips against the tree and ground against her. Tearing his mouth away from hers, his chest heaving, he pulled her bodice down and found her bare breast. 

“Ye have bedeviled me all night with this, Claire. I could think of nothing but doing this very thing with ye all night. Ye ken what ye’ve been doing to me, eh? I’ve been walking around all night with my cock practically standin’ at attention behind my coat.”

Claire caught her breath at his naughty talk. She found she quite liked it. 

He squeezed her exposed breast. She nearly lost her footing when her knees almost gave way as he lightly pinched her nipple. 

“Ye ken how tae make a man suffer…showing me these beauties swellin’ up over yer bodice. Then bendin’ over to pick up yer hankie on the ground, I wondered if they’d be fallin’ out.”

He undid his coat buttons, jerked her skirts up and heaved her up against the tree so their heated cores could align perfectly. His mouth closed over her nipple and sucked hard. Claire’s head fell back against the tree, a gasp coming out of her mouth. They moved against each other frantically, reaching toward heaven.

Suddenly, Jamie tore away and dropped her, Claire’s skirts falling back to the ground. He quickly yanked her bodice back into place and buttoned his jacket, adjusting his trousers. 

She started to ask him why he stopped when he covered her mouth with his hand. 

She heard, “Hush, Milly! You don’t want anyone to know we’re out here, do ya?”

Milly giggled and they heard the sounds of kissing. Then more giggles. 

Jamie laid a finger on his lips, motioning for Claire to be quiet. He led her slowly out from the cover of the weeping willow tree, leaving Milly and her suitor behind. 

Feeling that they were far enough away, Jamie whispered, “I swear the devil is tailin’ me tonight. I can’t get ye alone for 3 minutes!”

Defeated, he led Claire back inside. 

**********

Jamie finally found Claire, both deep in their cups, and led her out onto the dance floor for one final dance before the festivities were over for the evening. 

“S-Sassssenach, I swear to ye I’ve danced wi’ all the women in the county. And only twa dances wi’ my own wife,” he slurred, the only detectable symptom of his drinking.

“You’ll have to drag me home at this rate,” she giggled. She thought she giggled like a little school girl. She wasn’t at all sure, though. So she tried it again. 

“Why are ye laughin’ that way?”

She giggled one more time, for good measure. “Oh dear. Did I do that out loud?”

“Do what?”

“I don’t remember!” She laughed. 

“Are ye drunk?!” 

“I dinna ken,” Claire said. 

Wait. Did she say that or did Jamie? She couldn’t be sure. 

Jamie snorted. “Ye have a terrible accent, Sassenach!”

“What’sat?” She’d already lost track of the whole conversation. 

Then she remembered. “I’m not drunk!”

Jamie eyed her laughingly. “Aye, ye are!” 

“Are ye? I mean are YOU?”

“I’m no’ drunk. I’m still standin’ up. See?” He pulled back, stumbling a little. 

She laughed again. “I’m standinnnnn, too. See?” She stumbled right into Jamie, nearly knocking him over. 

The band finished their final song and was rewarded with applause and whoops from the appreciative crowd. They began to filter out of the barn, slowly making their way home. Most were stumbling along, some were already passed out against the wall. The Millers knew they’d wake and make their own way home eventually. 

Jamie and Claire wound their arms together, keeping each other upright. About halfway home, Jamie stopped in his tracks.

“Claire,” he pulled her to a halt. Very seriously, he said, “I dinna think I finished kissin’ ye properly back behind the barn.” 

“You didn’t?” 

“No! I did no’! I ken it now. Da always said it was a man’s duty tae…tae…” He faltered, thinking. “I dinna remember what Da said now, but I ken I didn’t do it proper.”

He pulled Claire into his arms and kissed her. Quite thoroughly, really. 

She reached between them and palmed his hardened length that was pushing against her hip. “Did your father say it was a wife’s duty to do this?”

Jamie stopped kissing and nipping at her neck, apparently giving it some thought. “Aye, I’m sure he did…did he no’? He must have done.”

Claire giggled, a high pitched squeal as Jamie nipped her neck again. “He did not!”

“Oh aye. He was quite adamant that ye must do exactly what ye’re doin.” 

“He never did!”

“Weel, alright. Maybe that was what I said.” 

Claire snorted very unladylike at that. 

Jamie claimed her mouth again as Claire did her level best to reach into his trousers. She had two buttons undone when he stopped. 

“Claire, I dinna think I can wait any longer.” 

“Good! I’ll race you!” She took off running, surprisingly well for as drunk as she was. She lifted her skirts and made it to the door, getting it open and barely shutting it when Jamie caught up with her. 

He slammed the door shut and walked over to where she was laughing and heaving for breath against the wall. 

“Turn around.” 

Claire clumsily turned and faced the wall. She felt Jamie begin the process of removing her dress. He quickly removed everything but her shoes, silk stockings and corset. Her jewelry remained as well. 

She started to turn around and he pushed her back against the wall. “Stay put. I want ye just like that.” 

He quickly removed his clothes and dropped them on the floor. When he was naked, he stepped back to spoon up to her against the wall. He angled himself so that his cock was nestled between her legs. She stood up on tip-toe so that he could access her heated core.

“Christ, Sassenach, ye’re so wet. It’s dripping down yer thighs.”

Claire squirmed back against him, trying to angle so that he could enter her. He reached around her, pulled the cups of her corset down and took both breasts in hand and squeezed them. She dropped her head back onto his shoulder and gasped when he thrust exactly against the right spot as she arched her back.

When he pulled back, she moaned in frustration when she couldn’t pull him back. 

“Turn around now, so I can see ye.”

As she turned, she arched her back and squeezed her thighs together, searching for any friction she could get as relief. Her breasts were pushed up high above the corset. Her eyes slid closed as she undulated against the wall. 

She heard a whispered, “Fuck.” She opened her eyes to find Jamie’s blue eyes had glazed over, half closed. He had a hand on his cock, the tip leaking onto his hand. 

Claire thought to herself, “ _What’s good for the gander…_ ”

She slid her hand down slowly and parted her thighs, now nearly as wet as she was between her folds. Her fingers began to slowly circle where she ached the most. Spotting the foot stool, she reached over and pulled it to her so that she could place one foot up on it. Her fingers circled faster, more freely. Jamie’s fist pumped in time to hers. 

She heard Jamie gasp and she knew he was as close as she was. He lunged at her and lifted her up against the wall, pulling her legs behind him as he plunged home. Both moaned as they adjusted, while they throbbed around each other. Claire could feel his heartbeat in time with hers as they gasped when he had entered her to the hilt. 

He had her pinned against the wall and thrust once. One hand went to her breast, working it roughly, yet not hurting her. He whispered huskily into her ear, “Christ, Claire! I want…I want,” he gasped sliding back into her, “I want to fuck ye hard right here and now. Please tell me that it’s alright? That I can be a bit rough wi’ ye? I dinnae think I can hold back.”

He breathed heavily against her neck, thumbing her nipple. 

She let out a thready moan and pushed against him, “Do it now and don’t hold back!”

A very low, masculine growl came out of Jamie as he thrust hard into her, then again and again. Claire met him thrust for thrust, her core throbbing around him. 

“I’ve wanted tae do this tae ye all night long.” He groaned as her inner muscles tightened around him. “I thought of ye looking just like this…yer breasts pushed up high, nipples pointing at me, yer thighs dripping wet for me.”

“I like it when you talk dirty to me.” Claire threw her head back, her eyes closed. 

“Tell me what ye want, Claire.” Jamie groaned, feeling her muscles begin to spasm around him. 

“I…I…want…,” she hesitated. 

“Say. It.”

“Fuck me harder!” Her eyes squeezed shut. Her embarrassment all but over with given her inebriation. 

Jamie growled louder, the words like fuel to the flame. He pounded into her and she clung to him, sobbing out in ecstasy as she came around him, her muscles gripping him tight inside, sending him flying over the edge with a shout along with her. 

Claire saw black spots before her eyes and promptly passed out, both of them sliding to the floor onto a tangle of clothes. 

**********

Claire woke in the middle of the night to find Jamie spooned up against her on the floor, their clothes crushed beneath them. Jamie had loosened her corset, but hadn’t removed it entirely. Not wanting to move, she snuggled back against him. He wound his free hand back to her breast, holding it in his palm. 

“Are ye alright, Claire?”

“A bit sore, but I’m perfectly wonderful. You?”

“Same. Was I too rough wi’ ye?”

“No. It was exactly what we needed.”

He kissed her gently on her neck and whispered, “I do love ye so, _mo chridhe_.”

“And I love you, too.”

They both drifted back off to sleep.

**********

Will and Mary had knocked on the door for the third time. 

Will scratched his head. “I wonder where they are? Jamie said he needed help with the horses right after breakfast.”

“I dinnae ken. Do ye think they are alright? Should we peek in and check tae see that they are alright? It’s no’ like them to no’ answer the door.”

Will nodded. He eased the door open warily and spotted his brother and his sister-in-law as naked as the day they were born, snoring away on the floor in a tangle of clothes. 

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph!”

Will backed out and rubbed his eyes with a hand. 

“What?” Mary demanded. “What happened? Are they alright?”

“They’re fine, Mary. I’M NO’ ALRIGHT, damn it!”

“What happened?!”

“Oh they’re in there alright. Passed out on the floor, snoring as loud as the auld dog.” Will squeezed his eyes tight and grimaced. “They are naked, Mary!”

Mary gasped, “Let me see!” She tried to push her way to the partly open door.

Will grabbed the door and firmly closed it, then grabbed his wife’s arm dragging her back to their farm. “Oh nay, ye wee pervert. Yer no’ getting a wee keek at my brother’s arse.”

Mary grumbled something. Will was definitely positive that he didn’t need to ken what she said. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! It’s a bit of a small chapter, but it leads into the next one. 
> 
> Thanks so much for sticking with me while I took a wee bit of time off to deal with things here on the old farm. My posting really isn’t on a set schedule. It’s too hard to pin down a day. lol! Anyway, I have a good bit of the next chapter sketched out already, so it should drop sometime this week, too! 
> 
> So our story left us with Drunk!Jamie and Drunk!Claire coming home from the barn dance and having a good old time on the floor. And you just *know* that Will should rightfully have something to say to Jamie about catching them there in the altogether!

“Weel! Good mornin’, sunshine! I see ye are finally up and about.” **  
**

Jamie, seated on a hay bale, squinted up at Will while rubbing his sore head. Why in hell did he have to stand in the direct sunlight like that?

Jamie grumbled, “I slept in a bit later than I meant. Claire and I got back from the dance last night rather late.”

“I ken that, for sure,” Will smirked.

Jamie caught the tone of that remark and looked up at Will questioningly. “What do ye mean by that?”

Will snorted. “Ye said ye wanted me to come help with shoeing the horses this morning. So Mary bundled up the wee bairn and we walked up here at 8 o’clock as we usually would. When ye didnae answer the door, we worrit, ye ken. So, I opened the door and what did I find sprawled out on the floor? Yer hairy, white arse greetin’ me at the door. And other things I’d rather no’ mention.”

Jamie scowled, rubbing his eyes again. But suddenly it came to him what Will meant by ‘other things’. “WAIT! Are ye sayin’ ye saw Claire there, too? Because if ye were oglin’ my wife, ye pervert, I’ll knock yer arse to the…”

“Oh, just shut yer big geggie! Ye ken fine I wouldna ogle yer wife. Mary was standin’ right there by me.”

“Mary! Did ye let her see?!”

“Nae, I didna ye wee fool!” Jamie heard Will mutter something that sounded suspiciously like “ _no’ that she didna try_ ” but his head was pounding something fiercely and he just couldn’t be arsed to care right now. 

“What in hell were ye doin’ on the floor there, anyway? Couldna ye make it up the stairs?”

Jamie tried to roll his eyes, but it hurt. “What the feck did ye think we were doin’ there? We both drank more than we should’ve. We were enjoying the evening.”

“Looks tae me like ye did quite a bit o’ enjoyin’. What did ye do? Make it in the door and toss her up against the wall, ye wee bugger?”

Jamie shot him a dirty look. “And what if I did? We are marrit. We can do whatever we like.”

Will looked at him in disbelief. “Ye had her up against the wall like a whore, ye dolt?” 

Jamie stood up and stalked up to him. “She is NO’ a whore and aye, I did. She didna appear to dislike it one bit, either.”

Will stared at him for a minute then the side of his mouth tilted into a half-smile. “Ye say she liked that?”

Jamie grumbled, “She did. What of it?”

“Weel,” Will scratched his head, “I just never thought tae try that. Huh. Do ye suppose Mary would…weel, do ye think she’d like that?”

“Christ, I dinna ken!” Jamie pinched the bridge of his nose, as his head began pounding anew. “Why don’t ye go home and try it so I can go back tae bed. My head feels like shite.”

“I just might at that. The bairn should be down for a nap.”

Jamie screwed his face up in disgust. “For Christ’s sake, Will. Dinnae be tellin’ me that! I don’t need to ken yer…yer…marriage bed business.” 

Will laughed as he turned to walk out of the barn. “There willna be any bed involved this time, _mo bhràthair_!”

Jamie picked up a saddle bag and tossed it as his brother who was laughing his fool head off as he left. “Bugger off!”

Jamie sank back onto the hay bale and hung his spinning head. 

**********

Claire looked out the window of the kitchen while she was waiting on her bread dough to rise. Jamie and Will were out in the fields preparing for harvest. Mary had gone home with Rabbie. He was unusually fussy today for no particular reason. The air was close and humid in the house, so Mary thought maybe he was just unhappy being so hot. Claire had opened all the doors and windows in the house so that the breeze would circulate through the house. 

As Claire stepped outside to sit on the porch in the slight breeze that was blowing, she noticed a graying of the sky on the horizon. Rain would certainly be a blessing. It had been dry, but not unusually so. 

She sat in the rocking chair and opened the collar of her dress. Not finding any relief from that, she looked around the barnyard and the fields. Seeing no one, she pulled up the hem of her skirt and draped it over the sides of the rocking chair. The breeze felt nice around her legs. She had been playing around with an idea for a dress pattern that would be perfect for humid days like these when she felt that she was melting like butter on hot toast.

She leaned her head back on her chair, rocking slowly, day-dreaming of the dress pattern in her mind. She would have to sketch it all out before she forgot it so she could show it to Mary to see if it would suit. She was contemplating light-weight fabrics when she felt a presence on the porch that made the hair stand up on her neck. 

Opening her eyes, she was startled into sitting upright. Tall Man stood before her. 

He held a basket that appeared to be made of willow bark. It was full of a bounty of corn, beans and squash. He motioned for her to take the basket. 

Claire sat up slowly and reached for the basket. “Th-thank you.”

She brushed a stray tendril of hair out of her eyes as she remembered the state of her clothing. She quickly tossed her skirts down and used her free hand to hold her collar closed. 

Tall Man stood there and smirked at her. Her heart began to race as she tried to judge what he wanted. She knew he could speak a small amount of halting English from their last encounter. Standing up, she took the basket inside, intending to put the vegetables on the counter and return the basket. 

Quickly fastening her collar, she turned to give him back the basket. He had already made his way inside and was looking at a blueberry pie that was cooling on the counter by the window. He poked his finger around on it and eventually had the crust open enough that he could see what was inside. He brought his finger to his mouth, tasting it experimentally. His eyebrows rose up, apparently liking what he tasted. He dipped his finger again. 

Claire sighed. So much for getting a piece of THAT pie. She walked to the kitchen counter and got a knife to cut the pie, a fork and a plate. She reached around Tall Man and dragged the pie over toward her so she could cut out a piece. He reached over and tried to drag his finger in the juice that was left behind when she had placed his piece of pie on a plate. She swatted his hand, just like she would had it been Jamie (who was known to do the exact same thing). 

He jerked his hand back and looked at her with amused eyes. 

She relaxed, fearing that his reaction to her impulsive strike would be far worse. Smiling at him tentatively, she motioned for him to follow her. She carried the plate and fork over to the table and sat it in front of a chair, pulling it out and motioning for him to sit down. 

He sat down and looked at the foreign object beside the plate, not knowing what he was meant to do with it. Claire sat beside him, picked up the fork, sliced off a bite then lifted it to his mouth. She motioned for him to open his mouth. He frowned, looking at the sharp ends of the fork, but decided to trust her. He opened his mouth. She placed the bite in his mouth. He chewed, closing his eyes, clearly savoring the sweetness of it. He opened his mouth again. 

This time Claire laughed and handed the fork to him, motioning for him to do what she had done. He awkwardly managed to cut off a bite of the pie and brought it to his mouth, dropping a good portion of it in the process. He looked up to her with a wry look, and she smiled back at him, encouraging him to finish. 

Once he had the hang of it (mostly), she went to fetch him a glass of water. He picked up the glass and studied it. She took it from him and took a sip from it, demonstrating how to drink from the glass. Offering it back to him, he brought it to his mouth and drank from it clumsily, dripping water down his chin and onto his bare chest. 

He looked down to the water trickling down toward his abdomen and grinned at Claire. She couldn’t help laughing in return. He took another drink, doing a little better this time and sat the glass back on the table. 

Making a quick decision, Claire decided to give him the pie. She had plenty of pie tins to be able give up this one. She rose, took the pie and placed it in the basket and presented it to him. Frowning, he took the pie out, but pushed the basket back to her. 

“You keep. You use.” He motioned to her stomach. 

Her consternation showed on her face. He held both hands out in front of him and made a sort of rocking motion. He said something in his native tongue, but she still didn’t understand what he said. 

Frustrated at their lack of being able to communicate, Claire finally took the basket and again said, “Thank you. It’s very beautiful.”

He nodded and went outside. Claire followed behind, carrying his pie. 

Before leaving, he turned and pointed to the growing grayness on the horizon, that was turning darker. He made a circular motion with his hand. 

“Big wind.” He pointed at the clouds.

He held his arm out and walked his fingers across it, then made his fingers go down into a hole made by his thumb and forefinger. 

Not knowing what he meant, Claire nodded and made a note to herself to ask Jamie about it later when he came home for supper. 

Tall Man took the pie tin she handed him, frowned at her and left through the trees behind the house.

**********

Claire had just finished taking the bread out of the oven when she stopped, feeling a cool breeze hit her face. The temperature had dropped considerably from earlier. She had just closed her eyes, basking in the coolness when Jamie startled her by bounding into the house at full speed. 

“Claire! Help me move the table and the rug!”

“What in the world is going on?”

He yelled, “Just do it!” 

Frightened, Claire jumped at his tone. She followed his movements with the table and chairs, then helped him drag the rug to the side. Underneath the rug, a trap door was revealed. He lifted the ring and pulled the door open. A ladder was nailed to one side of the door that went into what appeared to be a dugout root cellar. 

As Jamie started to tell her to go down, a crack of thunder drowned out his voice. The wind picked up and howled outside. 

“Get down there now while I see to the animals!”

“Jamie! What is going on?! You’re frightening me!”

“Claire, it’s a tornado! Now DO AS I SAY!”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back! My laptop took a wee visit to college while we were looking for a new laptop for the kiddo during The Great Laptop Shortage of 2020. After looking high and low, we finally found one. Sorry for the delay in posting any updates, but sometimes it just can't be helped. 
> 
> So our couple finds themselves facing a force of nature. Everyone knows Claire hates storms, but she hasn't ever been faced with a good old-fashioned Midwest twister. 
> 
> This chapter is totally suitable for work, if you are worried about that sort of thing. :)

Claire was visibly shaking, her breath short as she waited for Jamie to come back from the barn. She hears the wind roaring and what sounds like the pounding of rain on the roof. Thunder rumbles and she grabs her ears trying to mask the sound. She can’t help the whimper that comes out of her when the lightning strikes close...too close. 

She sinks down to the floor in a little ball in the corner, whispering, “Jamie...hurry! God, keep him safe!”

Just then she hears a loud crash as the door slams. She can hear Jamie running overhead to the root cellar. Before he secures the cellar door, she hears the pounding of hail on the roof. It pings loudly against the shutters covering the windows. As Jamie climbs down the ladder, holding a lit oil lamp, he hears a frightened whimper from the opposite corner of the cellar. He finds Claire huddled up in a tightly curled ball on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

He quickly adjusts the flame of the oil lamp, being certain that it’s in a secure spot, and he goes to Claire, lowering himself to sit beside her.

Gathering her in his arms, he held her tightly. He knows of her deep fear of storms. Hell, this sort of storm frightened him. Tornadoes were dangerous storms. The destruction could be devastating. He knew more than a few farmers who were ruined by the loss of livestock and crops due to storms such as these. 

He clung tightly to Claire as she flinched and cried, hearing debris hit the house. 

“Jamie, my ears! They hurt! What is going on?!”

“It’ll pass, _mo nighean donn_. Just hold on!” He opened his mouth, as if to yawn, popping his ears to relieve some of the pressure. They listened to the wind whipping around. The shutters banged on the windows. He had quickly fastened them outside in order to protect the precious window glass. The noise was deafening. It sounded as if a train were passing right over their heads. The pitch of the wind turned to a nearly whistling, deafening sound as the storm passed through. They heard what must have been a tree land on the roof as it crashed overhead. 

Claire let out a muffled scream, burying her face into his neck. “Shhh...it’ll soon pass,  _ mo nighean donn _ . Yer safe here wi’ me.” He pulled her to sit between his legs so he could hold her tighter to him and whispered in her ear in Gaelic. Words she didn’t understand, but soothed her all the same.

Claire had never experienced a storm such as this. Of course, she’d heard of them and read about their devastation in the newspapers. But she had no idea how awful they could really be. She had a deep-seated terror of storms, a fear that had been with her since she was a child. She supposed everyone had something of which they were terrified. 

They held tightly to each other as nature unleashed her fury above them. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was all over. 

“Are ye alright, Claire?” Jamie stood and pulled her up to look her over. 

“I’m fine...just shaken a bit. “I...I...I don’t know why storms frighten me so. I’m sorry to be such a ninny.”

“Claire, ye ken that ye dinnae need to apologize for that.” He smoothed her hair back from her face and leaned in to kiss her softly. He placed his hands on her cheeks and looked her in the eye. “We are safe,  _ mo nighean donn _ . We are whole.”

Claire nodded shakily, trying to draw in a calming breath. “Do you think it’s safe to go upstairs now?”

“I’ll go up and have a keek. Ye stay here until I say it’s clear.” 

Claire nodded, rubbing the gooseflesh off her arms. Jamie had gingerly opened the trap door and a burst of cool air spiraled down to her, causing her to shiver. She watched Jamie surveying the house from his vantage point at the top of the ladder.

“What do you see?”

Jamie looked down to her, climbed out of the cellar and extended a hand to her. “Come up, Sassenach.”

Claire scrambled up the ladder and took Jamie’s hand. Together, they looked around. All seemed to be well, except for water dripping from the ceiling onto the kitchen floor. They went upstairs and found a tree had fallen on the roof, creating a hole in the guest bedroom where the roof had given way. Water was everywhere, but luckily, nothing was damaged that couldn’t be fixed. 

Claire followed Jamie back downstairs and outside to the barnyard. Fortunately, the barn remained intact, only missing a few shingles. One side of the large barn doors was hanging from the frame, swinging gently in the breeze.

Jamie ran into the barn to check on the animals. They were all agitated and nervous from the storm, but all appeared to be well beyond that. Claire went to soothe Willow and Bonny while Jamie tried to calm Rupert and Angus in the far stalls. She stroked and talked softly to them as their agitation eased. 

“JAMIE! CLAIRE! ARE YE ALRIGHT?”

Claire recognized Will’s voice calling from the barnyard and heard Rabbie’s cries as Mary did her best to quiet him. 

Jamie yelled, “We’re in the barn! We’re alright!”

Claire saw Will open the other side of the barn door that was still intact. He ran to where Jamie stood at Angus’ stall. “Christ, Jamie, is all weel here? Ye’re not injured?”

“No, thank God, we’re fine. We have a bit of roof damage to the house where the tree fell. Some of the shingles are missing and ye saw the barn door, but all else is alright. Nothing that can’t be fixed, ken.”

Will hugged Jamie to him, clearly relieved. “I saw it coming and I swear to ye, I thought it had hit yer farm. Mary and the bairn went down into the root cellar, but I stayed on the porch watching it.” Will shook his head. “It was somethin’ tae see, Jamie, I’ll tell ye.”

They all went out to the back of the house to survey the damage to the house. They had lost a large tree, but all in all it wasn’t too terrible. They went back inside the house to look at the damage in the guest bedroom. Claire and Mary quickly set about moving furniture out of the way and began mopping up the water. 

Within minutes, neighbors began arriving to check on each other. The men were dispatched to gather items needed to help with repairs. The women brought food to feed the workers and helped Claire with the cleanup. Claire had never been so grateful for all the help, but also having something to do to occupy her mind. She feared that if she didn’t, she’d begin shaking again. 

The talk shifted quickly to the storm. How swiftly it had stirred up. How Mr. Miller just knew it was going to do something because the leaves on his cottonwood tree had turned over, showing their silver underside. How the cattle had gathered up in a tight ball. How the air had become eerily still right before the storm hit. How Mrs. Dillon’s cat had hidden herself all day and wouldn’t come out, even when presented with kitchen scraps and a dish of warm milk. How old man Carter couldn’t walk without a limp during stormy days and his wife complained of a debilitating headache. How the sky had changed from sunny to a dark ominous color, tinged with green in the blink of an eye. How Mr. Lowe’s corn had been flattened in a path carved out by the twister. 

Claire stepped outside and went to the timber behind the house. She wanted to escape from the chatter, bringing up the storm and her fears anew. She sat on a downed tree limb and worked to bring her breathing back under control. She closed her eyes, shutting out the world behind her, and concentrated on breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. As she felt her heart return to a more normal pace, she slowly opened her eyes. 

Before her stood Tall Man, Short Man and three women. 

Claire rose slowly to greet them, no longer frightened of them. “Hello.”

Tall Man walked up to her, looked her over and nodded, as if satisfied that she was well. He motioned for Claire to sit back down. 

“Wife.” He pointed to the older of the three women. She came over holding out what appeared to be some sort of corn cakes that smelled heavenly. 

“Wife make. You eat.” Claire accepted one of them and tasted it. It was simple, but wasn’t unlike the cornbread Mary had taught Claire to make. Claire smiled and nodded her head at Tall Man’s wife. She smiled shyly at her. 

“Dau...Dau…,” Tall Man stumbled over the word. He looked at Claire, then pointed to a younger version of his wife. She had the same dancing eyes her father had. 

It wasn’t hard to guess the word he was searching for. “Daughter?”

Tall Man nodded. “Daugh-ter,” he sounded out. She brought Claire a sack of apples.

Claire gladly accepted them with thanks. 

Tall Man motioned with his fingers again, just like he had done earlier. But this time, she realized what he had been trying to say in warning. As he made a circular motion with his fingers, she said, “Big wind.” 

He nodded. He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger and walked his other hands into the circle. Claire knew now that he was trying to warn them that a storm was coming and to take shelter. Claire mimicked his motions and said, “Cellar.”

Tall Man repeated, “Cel-lar.”

Claire nodded. She pointed to herself and motioned. “We were in the cellar.” 

Tall Man pointed to himself and the others, “Cellar.”

She turned and motioned for them to follow her. “Come.”

She smiled and beckoned them, doing her best to reassure them in a way that they could understand. Tall Man followed, the rest falling in hesitatingly behind him. 

At the clearing, they could see everyone busily working in the yard. Claire saw Jamie up on the roof and she yelled, “Jamie, could you come down here for a minute? We have some visitors.”

Jamie looked up from pounding a board into place over the hole. Others looked up curiously and suddenly the yard had gone deathly quiet. 

“It’s alright,” Claire yelled. “They have come to help. They brought food.” 

Jamie quickly came down from the roof and walked over to the visitors. He said something in a halting language that Claire had never heard before. Tall Man understood, his eyebrows lifting in surprise and answered him. Tall Man took the axe out of a bag slung on his back and pointed to the downed tree. They exchanged more words and then followed Jamie to the downed tree. The neighbors, looking quite stunned, stood watching them warily. When Jamie finally realized the quietness, he stood. 

“They come in peace. Their village had no damage, but they are here to help us make repairs and help where they can. They brought food, as well.”

Jamie heard a few whispers and, judging from some of the expressions on a few faces, added, “As long as they are on my land, they are welcome. They rescued my Claire when she was lost. No harm will come tae them while they are here. If ye dinnae like it, ye are welcome to leave, but I wish ye’d stay and give them a chance.”

Will walked over to where Jamie stood with Tall Man and Short Man. He smiled and reached for Tall Man’s shoulder, squeezing it. “Welcome.”

Jamie translated the word to Tall Man. He nodded in kind.    
  


“Jamie, ye are just full o’ surprises. Is there a language ye dinnae ken?”

“I cannae speak Hebrew. Lucky for me, there’s no’ much call for it here,” Jamie grinned.

Will punched his arm and laughed, going back to his job on the roof while Jamie remained on the ground with Tall Man, working to chop up the tree. 

Mary came over to Claire and the Indian women and did her best to welcome them. Claire invited them to go in the house to help out in the kitchen. They looked at Tall Man and he nodded his approval. 

When they were in the kitchen, the Indian women were stunned at all the conveniences that Claire had available to her. Tall Man’s wife was particularly taken with the stove. Mrs. Miller, who was busy at the sink, showed Tall Man’s daughter how to pump water into the bowl at the dry sink. 

**********

In no time at all, the men had the roof repaired and the barn door rehung. Shingles were replaced and shutters were tightened where they had been loosened. The fallen tree was chopped up and stacked for firewood. Meanwhile, the women had cleaned and scrubbed the guest room and had laundry hung on the line to dry. The mattress had been dragged into the yard so it could dry in what remained of the sun. Mary had delighted in showing the Indian women how to make a pie with the apples that they had brought. Tall Man must have made quite the impression with the blueberry pie that Claire had sent back with him. They had returned Claire’s pie tin, which she filled again with an apple pie. She motioned for them to keep the pie tin. Now that they knew how to make a pie, maybe they could do their own version since Tall Man loved them so.

It wasn’t long before everyone began to head for home. Tall Man had returned to his village, happy to have another pie to consume, and the neighbors had gone with instructions to send for them if Jamie and Claire needed any further help. 

Jamie quickly heated up some bath water, which they shared, taking a quick bath before turning in for the night, exhausted.

Snuggled up next to Jamie, she finally remembered to ask. “How in the world were you able to communicate with Tall Man? I didn’t realize you spoke his language.”

“I picked up a bit of it here and there. When we first arrived here, I met an auld trapper who spoke the language. He taught me a bit of it. Said it would likely come in handy, given that a wee village was close to the farm. He assured me they were friendly, but they didnae trust the white man very easily.” He shrugged. “I just pick up things like that quickly, is all.”

“I see. Maybe you could teach me a bit of their language.”

Jamie laughed and squeezed her tighter to him. “I can think of another language to teach ye,” as he nuzzled her neck and nipped at her ear. 

Claire giggled, “Oh, please do!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you've never been through a tornado before, much of this is actually just exactly like it would go. We are lucky that the good old National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma keeps us abreast of all the junky weather to be on alert for. It's a very, very rare day that we don't have warning with plenty of time to go to safety. Here in Tornado Alley, as they call it, most of us are prepared during storm season. We have the really valuable, irreplaceable stuff stashed in the basement, like great-great grandma's vase. We also have useful stuff like an axe, water, and the like. When warnings are issued, we gather up things like purses, wallets and flashlights, put on our shoes (not sandals!), grab jackets, and head on downstairs when the weather turns bad. Smart folks who have been through an EF-5 tornado have a sturdy bench to get under and cover up with pillows or even a mattress. Even down in the basement, it's not safe. Many who have experienced an EF-5 tornado talk about how they felt themselves being lifted off the basement floor, where they were seated. 
> 
> There are many ways to predict that a storm is coming, other than the NWS telling you about it. Many can "predict" a change in the barometric pressure by the way their bodies feel (headaches are probably the biggest). Cattle will group up. Animals will act "off" (my cats and dog go into deep hiding...they will NOT come out). Cottonwood tree leaves have a green side and a silver side. They will "flip" before a storm. Against a dark, stormy sky the silver really stands out. The air is thick. Just before a tornado hits, it does sometimes get noticeably quiet. No sounds at all. No birds chirping, no insects...nothing. It's really eerie.
> 
> The sounds are just as I described. The wind is fierce. Your ears do pop, sometimes incredibly painfully, as the tornado comes through. Afterward, the sun comes out just like the difference between night and day. You go out and survey the damage. Shock sets in and you shake for a while. Then you realize just how lucky you are. 
> 
> Also, incidentally, if you've never visited the National Weather Service in Norman (on the campus of the University of Oklahoma), it's a very, very interesting place. They are in charge of issuing all weather watches in the United States (your local NWS offices issue the warnings). If you go during May, you'll get to see it in full action usually, since that's storm season. Meteorology students attend classes in the same building, so you'll get to see quite a display of interest in storms. It's quite the building, designed especially for this purpose. The observation deck on the roof is great.
> 
> So. There ya have it. Hope you all enjoyed the update. See y'all soon with the next chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our couple left off with experiencing a good old Midwest twister. This time, they are going to go to a harvest fair and dance. Except Mary can’t help Claire get ready. Oh mercy sakes alive. Whatever will Claire doooooo?! {wink-wink, nudge-nudge}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update! And this will likely be a bonus two-for-one week, if all goes well. This will be a two-part chapter. I’m gonna say these next two chapters are NSFW.

Claire stood on the porch enjoying the evening breeze and watching the prairie grass undulate in the breeze. It waved and dipped in the gentle wind, not unlike the waves on the ocean. Claire was mesmerized by the motion of it, lost in thought. She couldn’t believe how perfect their life was, despite all the hardships of life on the prairie. She was settling in nicely to a world that had been only a dream to her a year ago. Harvest was well underway. The storm, fortunately, hadn’t done much damage to their crops. She and Mary had begun the tedious chore of putting up the harvest from their gardens. She’d lost count of all the canning jars that they had carried to the root cellar, the sacks of potatoes that had been hefted down the ladder by Will and Jamie (they wouldn’t hear of their wives doing such a chore), and the onions that had been braided and hung. The house currently smelled strongly of the pickling brine in the crocks that held the cucumbers that would eventually become dill pickles. 

Watching the prairie grass change in color from gold to rust as it waved in the breeze, she wondered how in the world she had gotten so lucky to find even more than she had ever dreamed of. She had gained friends and family. She had a home and a place to call her own. But even more than that, she had found her soulmate. Claire knew that a love like she and Jamie shared wasn’t usual. She marveled at how quickly they fell for each other. And fell hard, too. She had never been one to believe in love at first sight, but this…this was different. 

She hadn’t heard Jamie walk up behind her, observing her as he leaned against the door. But she felt him. It wasn’t a describable feeling. She just…knew. She felt his arms wrap around her from behind and pulled her close to him. As he kissed her softly on her neck, she smiled. 

Contentment did that to you. 

“What are ye doin’ out here, Sassenach?”

“Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the view. Taking stock, I suppose.” She glanced up at him over her shoulder. “I was just thinking how different my life was just a year ago.”

Jamie hmphed and squeezed her. “I ken what ye mean. It was lonely here. Oh, I had Will and Mary and friends, but that’s not the same as having someone to share yer life and thoughts with. I dinnae ken what made me answer yer advertisement in the paper like I did. Will thought my heid had gone aff full o’ mince, he did.”

Claire laughed, bringing a grin to Jamie’s face. 

“Ye ken, I’m glad I did, though? I’m grateful that ye came tae me, even if it wasnae in the usual way. It’s like…like fate meant it tae be.” He kissed the crown of her head and breathed in the scent of her. 

“Ye smell of pickles, Sassenach.”

Claire grinned and elbowed him in the belly. 

“You sure know how to dampen a nice, romantic moment.”

Jamie laughed at that. “Do ye like romance, then?”

“What girl doesn’t?”

“Do ye…weel…oh, nevermind.”

“What?”

Claire looked over her shoulder. Jamie had pinkened and was looking off in the distance. He squeezed her a bit and said, “I ken we didnae have a true courtship, Claire, but did ye miss that? Did ye need that? The romance?”

Claire wondered how he could be so in tune with her own thoughts. That wasn’t the first time that their thinking had been aligned like that. “You know, we did skip a few of the usual steps. But, I’m happy. I was just thinking how content I was with my new life here. It isn’t what I had pictured, for certain, but to answer your question, I do and I don’t. If that makes any sense.”

“Ye do and ye don’t?”

“Well, I suppose all women crave romance. They like to feel…I don’t know…special. I’m perfectly content with what I have with you. But if you, oh…wanted to spice things up a bit every now and then, I wouldn’t be opposed to that at all.”

Jamie nodded. “I see. So how would ye feel about a trip into town tomorrow? I could take ye to a nice dinner, maybe some dancing in the moonlight?”

Claire narrowed her eyes at him. “That sounds suspiciously like the very harvest fair that you told me last week that you had no interest in attending.”

“Weel, a man can change his mind, ye ken. Or his wife can change it for him.”

Claire laughed and smacked his arm that had snaked tighter around her as he gave her a loud kiss on the cheek. 

**********

The next day, Claire rose early so she could bake a pie. She had been working on perfecting her apple pie recipe. Jamie had heartily approved of the latest version. She wanted to enter it into the pie contest. She knew there were likely better pies around, but she thought it stood a good chance. Jamie had agreed, encouraging her to give it a go. 

Glancing at the watch dangling from a ribbon around her neck, she quickly tidied up the kitchen and prepared a box to secure her pie for the trip into town once it had cooled. 

Jamie walked in smelling deeply. “Ahhhh! I could go for a piece of that pie, Sassenach!” 

She shook a finger at him. “Oh no, you don’t! This is the pie for tonight’s contest and you well know it. You stay out of it.”

“Oh? Contest, eh? What contest would that be? Are ye planning to go somewhere, then?”  
  


“Oh you!” Claire tossed the towel she had wiped her hands on at him. “You know very well what we are doing this evening.” 

Laughing, Jamie grabbed her and kissed her soundly on the mouth. “That’s what I quit early for. I’m here to play the lady’s maid!”

“What are you talking about? Mary was going to come over and help me with things.”

“Weel, ye see, Will just told me that wee Rabbie is feeling poorly. He’s cutting a tooth and isnae letting Mary put him down. Will said his wee nose is running and he has a slight fever. He only wants his Mam.”

“Oh, the poor little dear. I gave Mary a few things to try a couple days ago when Rabbie was cranky.”

“Aye. Will said she’s trying them. Mam used to rub a wee bit of whisky on our gums when we were bairns. Anyway, Rabbie will be fine, he’s just crabbit. So, here I am, yer humble servant.” Jamie bowed deeply before her, causing Claire to snort in a most unladylike manner. 

“Well, if you’re to be my lady’s maid, let’s get on with it!” He followed Claire upstairs.

**********

Jamie quickly heated water for a bath that would serve for both of them. He insisted on washing and rinsing her hair for her, as well as bathing her. She lounged in the tepid water, nestled between his legs, and reveled in the feel of his hands on her skin. Blinking open an eye, she saw his hooded eyes looking over her naked body. He had already assured her that she’d just have to wait for later, but his heated looks told her a very different story. 

“If ye keep lookin’ at me that way, Sassenach, we’ll be late for the fair. Besides, I dinnae think it’s proper to be lookin’ at yer lady’s maid in such a way.”

“To be fair, I’ve never had a man for a lady’s maid, nor one that was in the water with me. Why, he’s quite turned my head. What must my husband think?”

Jamie leaned over and nuzzled a strand of hair out of her face with his nose. He whispered in her ear, “He thinks that his wife could tempt the devil himself, the way yer layin’ there in the water, yer lovely breasts starin’ at me, temptin’ me tae do things to ye…”

He ran a hand down toward her breasts and circled them, then trailed fingers down between her legs. 

“Ah, but I see my lady is in a bad way. Tsk-tsk. It’s a shame that we dinnae have time to remedy that.”

He promptly sat up, dislodging her from her spot between his legs and reached for the towel.

“Up wi’ ye, Sassenach!”

“Wot?!”

“Ye heard me fine. Up. Let’s get ye dried off, then.”

He quickly stepped out and dried off. Claire’s jaw had dropped at the change of direction that left her head spinning. She saw that Jamie was in much the same way, given the swelling between his own legs (which was giving her ideas, if she was honest), but he was determined to ignore it. He noticed what she was eyeing and promptly slung the towel around his hips, securing it tightly. 

“Oh, no ye don’t, Sassenach! Up ye go!”

He helped her stand and began to dry her off just as briskly, spending entirely too much time toweling dry her more private parts. 

“Oh dear. I missed a wee part.” He pulled her flush against him. Slinging the towel around her hips, he began to use both hands to grope her arse. 

He breathed heavily into her ear and whispered, “How I missed drying off this last wee bit, I’ll never guess.” He nipped her ear, causing her to gasp. She did so love when he did that. “Ye ken, it’s my favorite part of ye.” His drying morphed into more of a groping, which did nothing to ease the hardening between his legs, given that Claire was moving quite happily against it. 

Suddenly, he dropped the towel and stepped back from her. Placing a dry towel on the chair before the mirror at the bureau, he motioned for Claire to sit. “Have a seat, milady. I’ll see tae yer hair now.”

Claire started to reach for her robe, but Jamie stopped her. “Oh no. Just the way ye are will do fine.” 

He began to use his fingers to smooth out her curls. As he massaged her scalp, she let her eyes close and she leaned into his torso. When his fingers halted, she blinked her eyes open and looked at him in the mirror. He looked to be on the edge of his own self control. 

Noticing her looking at him, he took a deep breath as if to mentally shake himself. He leaned over her, grinding his hips into her a little more than necessary, and reached for her comb. 

He began to tame her curls, starting at the bottom and working upwards toward the roots in slow, steady strokes. As her hair dried in the breeze from the open windows, he switched over to her brush. He again reached over her shoulder, grinding his hips into her back, and grabbed her bottle of perfume. He drizzled a few drops onto the bristles of the brush and replaced the bottle. He brushed through her locks with the fragrant bristles, until her hair was completely dry and glossy from his attentions. 

Gathering the front section of her hair, he loosely pulled it back and secured it with pins at the back of her head. He left the back of her hair flowing down her back in wild, curling ringlets. 

“Does that look alright, milady?”

Claire had to admit, it did look good despite its simplicity. It had been sometime since she’d worn her hair as such. She smiled up at him, and said, “It’s perfect. You are quite good at this.”

“Och, I used to help my Mam and my sister Jenny with their hair when I was small. I learned to be gentle or Jenny would pinch me every time I pulled her hair.”

Claire smiled at the vision that brought to her mind. 

Taking her hand, he turned her around to face him. He took her fancy silk stockings and garter ribbons out of the bureau and knelt in front of her. Raising her foot, he slid his fingers from her upper calf down to her heel. Bringing it to his mouth, he delicately kissed her ankle and on upward to her knee. He reached for her stocking, gathering it up slowly with his fingers, then slid it slowly over her foot and leg. Pausing every few inches, he kissed her skin before covering it. 

“Open yer knees, Sassenach.” He looked at her with hooded eyes and pushed her knees further open with his hands. She watched his eyes lower to her core, his lips tipping up in a masculine, self-satisfied grin as he saw the evidence of just how much she really was enjoying his attentions. 

He picked up her embroidered ribbon garter and wound it around her leg above her knee. Tying it into a bow, he held her whisky-colored eyes as he leaned down and kissed her inner thigh. He followed the same procedure with the other stocking and garter. When he was finished, he pushed her knees wider. Leaning in, his blue eyes burning into hers, he licked a path up her inner thigh right to the junction of her thighs where she burned. Tilting her hips toward him in anticipation, she felt him run his tongue through the wetness. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back on a sigh of ecstasy. 

“Dinnae move from that spot.” She felt him pull away from her. 

She waited in that position for what seemed like forever when she raised her head and looked at him. She found him sitting back on his heels, watching her. 

“Jamie?”

“If I could capture a moment in time and hold it forever in my mind, it would be this exact moment. Ye, with yer bonny long hair curling over yer shoulders, naked and spread before me. When I’m an auld man, I want to remember ye just this way. Always.”

If it were possible to love a man more, he managed to melt her heart even further with his words. She didn’t often find herself speechless, but at this moment, she had no words. Instead, her glass face reflected everything she held deep in the safety of her heart. 

Standing, he took her hand and led her to face the floor-length mirror in the corner. He got out her silk fancy corset and placed it around her. 

“Jamie, you forgot my chemise and my knickers. Those go on first, before the corset.”

“Ye willnae have any need of those. This way, I’ll ken exactly what ye aren’t wearing under yer dress tonight. Every time I look at ye tonight, ye ken I’ll be picturing ye on the chair.”

All she could manage was a sighed out “ohhh” in response. 

As he stood behind her lacing up her corset, he would occasionally reach around front to adjust it so that it best displayed her bosom. One such adjustment caused his fingers to trail over her nipples, eliciting a harsh intake of breath from her, electric sparks racing straight to the junction of her legs. What normally would have been decently covered under her shift was on full display over the top edge of her corset. 

The laces secured, Jamie reached his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder, looking at her in the mirror. He flicked his fingers over her hardened nipples. Leaning her head back to rest on him, she tilted her pelvis back, her bare bottom meeting the hardness barely contained in the towel covering Jamie’s hips. She ground against it until Jamie stepped back.

“None of that, Sassenach,” he breathed out harshly. Reaching down, he adjusted his hardened length behind the towel and secured it more tightly. 

He retrieved her petticoat and held it out before her to step into, securing the laces behind her. Next he chose a dark emerald green dress with a deep cut neckline and short summer sleeves that would be suitable for the warm evening. She stepped into the skirt and he secured it, bending to adjust her petticoat underneath. Lastly, he slipped on the bodice and attached it. Walking around to her front, his fingers adjusted it here and there, lingering on the top edge where her breasts swelled out over the low neckline. 

“Only I will ken what secrets ye hide behind this dress, Sassenach. Only I will ken how wet ye are for me between yer legs. Only I will ken how ye yearn for more.”

She watched him move to the bureau and opened her wooden jewelry box. He selected an emerald in a silver setting that dangled from a black velvet ribbon. Walking back behind her, he secured it around her neck as his fingers traced the swell of her neck where the ends of the ribbon dangled. He moved her long curls back into place, letting some trail down toward her cleavage. Once more, he rooted around in her box and found the pair of matching ear bobs. After securing them into place, he kissed a trail down each side of her neck, causing shivers to run down her spine. 

“Sit down on the chair.”

She sat back on the chair and watched as he placed her shoes on the floor in front of her. He knelt and drew up the hem of her skirts above her knees. Placing his hand behind her knee, he dragged his fingers down and raised each foot in turn, placing her shoes on her feet.

“One last thing.”

Leaning over her, he retrieved her gold filigree perfume bottle that her Uncle Lamb had brought her from Egypt when she turned 18. Lifting the applicator, he dragged it down into the valley between her breasts. Kneeling again, he ran the perfume behind each knee and lowered her skirts.

“Only I will smell this scent in these places.”

He led her back to the mirror and stood behind her. “Does milady approve?”

Claire looked herself up and down. Her cheeks and neck were pinkened, her breast heaving. She could never have achieved this look on her own or with any other lady’s maid, to be certain. 

“I do. I’ve never had a lady’s maid who was so attentive.”

“It was ALL my pleasure. Now sit while I dress.”

She watched as Jamie went to retrieve his suit that was hung on the peg on the wall, where Claire had placed it after pressing it. Pulling off his towel, Claire nearly didn’t stifle the gasp that came out of her as he turned toward her. His cock throbbed before her, the head gone quite purple in color and leaking. He took his cock in his hand and ran it down the length, his finger edging over the tip. Walking slowly over to her, he traced the finger over her lips. She drew the finger in her mouth and sucked off all traces of his moisture. 

He reached for his trousers and stepped into them, showing her quite the view of his very shapely backside in the process.

“Er, Jamie, aren’t you going to wear any undergarments?”

He grinned at her, almost feral in appearance. “No. I want ye to ken exactly what I have on underneath my trousers. And how badly I want ye. Only ye will ken what what hides behind my jacket.”

He drew his shirt on and buttoned it, stuffing the tail into his trousers. Moving to the mirror, he secured his necktie into position. He sat on the bed and drew on his boots, then stood and donned his waistcoat and jacket. He ran his fingers through his long, unruly curls, then drew a comb through them. 

When he finished, he took Claire’s hand and pulled her to her feet and drew her close to him. 

“Sassenach, I dinnae think I can take much more of being yer lady’s maid.” He kissed her hard, tangling his tongue with hers. 

“Jamie, we could always skip…”

“Nay, Sassenach. We are going. I plan to romance ye all night long. I intend to make ye burn.”

Oh.

_{To Be Continued……}_


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, the Smut Train has pulled into the station! Enter, if you dare, to read the much-anticipated part two of our couple’s trip into town to the harvest festival, where our couple works themselves into quite the state. Enjoy!

Claire stood before the judging table, chewing nervously on the edge of her thumbnail. Her apple pie sat before the judge, a slice on his plate to test. He took a bite, then frowned and took another. And another. 

The frown became more pronounced. 

Claire glanced nervously at Jamie, who looked at her. He whispered, “What do ye think he’s frownin’ about, Sassenach?”

She shook her head, eyes wide. “I don’t think I messed it up. I made certain that I used the sugar, rather than the salt. I added all the spices correctly. I don’t know why he’s looking that way!”

The crowd was whispering as the judge continued to frown and sample the pie. 

Finally, he pushed the plate away and stood up. “May I have the ribbons, please?”

Someone in the crowd rushed up with the 3 ribbons and handed them to him. 

“This pumpkin pie made by Mrs. Miller is awarded third place. Very, very tasty. It could only be improved with a large dollop of cream on top!” 

The crowd applauded and congratulated Mrs. Miller, who had gone red in the face with all the accolades. 

“The second place winner goes to this blueberry pie made by Miss Johnson. The crust was perfectly flaky and the blueberries were plump and sweet. Very well done!”

Miss Johnson tittered and laughed while the crowd applauded her.

“And finally, the first place pie winner. Folks, I don’t mind telling you that this was a very difficult choice to make. All these pies are absolutely delicious, so narrowing them down was not an easy thing to do. The winning pie caught my interest in that it was simple, but had a certain something that completely set it off, which I don’t mind telling you I could not place. Whatever the maker put in it made it perfect. 

“And without further ado, the winner is…”

The crowd drew in their breaths, waiting. Claire gnawed harder on her finger, her heart racing.

“Mrs. Fraser’s apple pie!”

Jamie turned and picked up Claire, turning her around in a circle, hugging her. “Congratulations, Sassenach! I kent it had to have been yer pie! Well done, _mo nighean donn_!” He sat Claire back on the ground and she turned to go up to the judges table to be awarded her ribbon. 

She shook the hand of the judge, who heartily congratulated her. “What the devil is in that pie that made it so different? I realize it’s just a simple apple pie, but it’s got something in there that I can’t quite place!”

Claire blushed and grinned. “I’ll never tell, sir. It’s a secret!”

The crowd laughed and crowded around Claire to wish her congratulations. 

**********

Jamie held Claire’s elbow as they walked through the different displays of vegetables and fruit at the harvest fair. They marveled at the biggest pumpkin contest. The prettiest Indian corn with all the different colors of autumn all wrapped up in a silk-layered blanket. The best pickles. 

Claire had maneuvered them over to a display of cucumbers, where they were currently measuring them for the longest cucumber. She picked one up to examine it when she had a sudden thought. 

Her mind still reeled a bit from the proceedings earlier, the romance of it still simmering in her mind. 

She glanced around to see that no one was watching her. Except one blue-eyed, red-headed Scot. 

As she pretended to examine the cucumber more closely, she began to suggestively stroke it. Just barely enough so that no one would remark upon it…unless one had one’s mind firmly in the gutter. 

Looking up, she caught Jamie’s eye from across the table. His eyes were glazed over, watching her hands slowly run up and down the cucumber. She replaced it on the table then trailed a finger over a particularly fat cucumber. She looked up at her husband, biting her lip. He caught her eye and she quickly raised her eyebrow twice at him, flirting. He cocked his head at her and slowly tipped one side of his mouth in a knowing grin. 

He walked over to the next table, Claire trailing after him. This table was laden with bushel baskets loaded with fruit. He picked up a fragrant peach and brought it to his nose to smell, closing his eyes. Lowering it, he ran his fingers around the soft peach fuzz and slowly squeezed it, testing the ripeness. Or at least that’s what any other observer would see. He picked up a second peach and held them, squeezing them gently, not unlike the way that he would squeeze his wife’s breasts. 

Her breath caught in her throat when he looked up at her, throwing her a heated look in retaliation. 

Claire realized then that her husband was onto her scheme. She saw a basket of plums, so dark that they were nearly blue in color. She chose two from the basket and held them in the palm of one hand, weighing them and rolling them slowly between her fingers. 

Jamie shifted uncomfortably, trying to covertly adjust his trousers behind a bushel basket. He spotted a basket of dark cherries. He picked one up and examined it. He ran a pointer finger over the surface of it. Claire felt it just the same as if he had run his fingers over her own nipples, which had hardened behind her bodice. Looking around to be sure no one was watching, he lifted the cherry to his mouth and quickly flicked it with his tongue. His eyes shifted from her own now glazed-over whisky eyes down to the hardened nipples he could see behind her bodice. Licking the cherry once more, he popped it in his mouth and ate it, removing the cherry pit and dropping it to the ground. 

He walked over to his wife, took her by the elbow and strolled slowly with her through the crowd. Leaning over to her ear, he whispered, “Ye have a very, very naughty streak, _mo chridhe_.”

“Hmmm…I wonder who would have put such naughty thoughts into my head. I do wonder…”

Jamie squeezed her arm and pulled her closer to his side. “Ye ken what yer doin’ tae me? It’s almost torture, Sassenach.”

“Oooo! Tell me more,” Claire exclaimed. 

Jamie gave a very Scottish “hmph” and steered her between two buildings and into the back where they were afforded a bit of privacy thanks to the fence that enclosed the back of the general store where stacks of wooden containers were piled. He pushed her up against the wall and stepped up to her, where he ground his pelvis into hers. 

“Wife, now do ye ken what ye’re doin’ tae me?” 

Oh she could definitely tell. He ground his hardened length against her hip bone. She could no more restrain the low moan that came out of her than she could keep from drawing air into her lungs. 

He ran a fingertip behind her bodice, drawing it down so her breast swelled out over the top. 

“Is this what ye were thinking of, Claire?” The way he said her name, drawing it out like he did, sent shivers up her spine. He flicked a finger over her hardened nipple. 

She could barely whisper out, “Yessss.”

He leaned over and flicked her nipple with his tongue. “And this?” 

“Ohhhh!”

He lowered the other side of her bodice and he palmed both breasts, just as he had done with the peaches. He squeezed her breasts, that were pushed up impossibly high over her corset, as he ground his erection against her pelvis. He lightly pinched her nipples, causing her to moan low in her throat. Leaning over, he held her eyes as he took one “cherry” into his mouth and sucked on it hard. Claire tried so hard not to let out a keening sound, but she couldn’t hold it back. She reached a hand out and groped around Jamie until she found what she was searching for. She palmed his hardened length that had tented his trousers down against his leg. She ran a hand up and down the length, producing a low growl from deep within him. He thrust his cock into her hand as he sucked harder on her nipple. 

Jamie hissed out a strangled moan and pulled away from her hand, stepping back from her, heaving air into his lungs. 

“Sassenach, we have tae stop now or I’ll have ye out here in public up against this wall!” He reached into his trousers, adjusting his cock into a more comfortable position, where his erection could hide behind his coat. Claire dazedly lifted her bodice back into place and worked to get her breathing back to normal. 

After a few minutes of catching their breath, Jamie finally said, “Are ye ready?”

Claire knew she shouldn’t do it. But she did it anyway. She raised her foot up onto a short stack of wooden boxes and lifted the hem of her dress. She ran a finger up to the apex of her thighs until she reached the moisture that was beginning to coat her thighs. Raising the finger to his mouth, she ran it delicately along his lips, which had dropped open while watching her. His mouth closed over her finger and sucked. 

She pulled her finger back, lowered her skirts and twitched them into place. Turning around, she said saucily, “Why yes, my dear, I do believe I am QUITE ready.” 

She sashayed away, leaving her stunned husband in the alley.

**********

Claire and Jamie sat on a bench around the makeshift dance floor in the street as they listened to the band that was playing festive music. Couples began to filter out into the street to dance. Claire was sipping on a lemonade that Jamie had brought her. They were content to watch for a time. They had eaten a nice meal together and had their fill of pie from the contest. Jamie had proudly fought the crowd of people declaring that he would have a piece of his wife’s winning pie and none other would do. That had brought about quite a bit of good-natured ribbing, but he did finally succeed in getting a piece. 

As the band played on, Jamie snaked his arm around Claire’s shoulder. His fingers trailed lightly along her shoulder. She cuddled up into the crook of his arm. She placed her hand on his thigh that was crossed over his opposite leg and slowly ran her pointer finger back and forth. She could feel the muscles beneath her fingers tense and relax. Using her skirt as a cover, she covertly moved her hand higher up his thigh. She could feel the muscles move as he squirmed. She had gone as high as she dared when Jamie leaned over to her ear. 

“Do ye ken what ye’re on about, Sassenach?”

“Oh, I definitely ken,” she shot back.

“I see yer naughty thoughts are still running wild through yer heid.”

She nodded. “I suppose they are. What do you intend to do about it?”

Jamie stood abruptly and held his hand out to Claire. “Would milady care tae dance?”

Claire took his hand and stood up, “I would.”

Jamie led her to the floor and gallantly bowed before her, then took her in his arms and pulled her close. Much closer than was appropriate, to be sure. As he led her through the waltz, they could hear comments, mostly from two elderly old maid sisters, about them as they twirled by.

_“Why, he holds her entirely too close. It’s scandalous, I tell you!”_

_“Oh my. Mabel, does he have his hand on her…er…well…you know!”_

This from Mabel, _“Dear sister, he has his hand on her bottom. Entirely inappropriate. You should not be watching that. What would Papa think?!”_

_“Mabel, I don’t know. If I were his wife, I believe I would let him. He’s quite handsome.”_

_“Sister, he is 40 years younger than you. Have you been in Papa’s liquor cabinet again?”_

Jamie snorted quite indiscreetly at that. Claire’s own lips tipped up at the edges as she tried, and failed miserably, to conceal a smile. 

“Sassenach, what do ye say we give the auld sisters something to talk about?”

“Oh Jamie, I don’t know. There are so many people around and…”

She swallowed her last words as he pulled her tightly to him. She could feel the beginnings of his erection pushing against her pelvis. He lowered his head and kissed her softly. Right before pulling away, he licked the edge of her bottom lip. His heated eyes held hers, echoing the promises of what he’d told her earlier. 

Leaning to her ear, he whispered, “Would ye like to ken what I’m thinking right now, _mo nighean donn_?”

She nodded slowly. 

She more felt than heard his deep intake of breath as he breathed out, “I was thinking about your lovely thighs. I was thinking about how ye ran your finger between them and how wet that finger was. How you put that finger to my mouth. I nearly lost my wits right then and there, Sassenach, ye wee vixen. Tell me, in great detail if ye would, is your lovely honeypot overflowing onto your thighs?”

Claire gulped. She opened her mouth to speak and all that came out was a breathy sigh. 

“Come now, my wee vixen. Surely ye can do better than that.” He nosed underneath her ear and kissed her softly on her neck. 

Taking a deep breath, she began, “My thighs are rather wet, right now. In fact, it’s quite an unusual feeling to be walking around in the altogether underneath my dress. To know that you could move my bodice two inches and I would be exposed with no shift is rather exciting. You bring out a side of me that I didn’t know existed.”

“Discovering that side has been my greatest pleasure in life.” He licked the shell of her ear. She could hear the faster breaths he was taking at her words. 

_“Mabel dear, did he just lick her ear?!”_

_“Sister, I believe we should go home. The entertainment tonight is too salacious for the likes of us. If Papa were alive, he would not approve.”_

_“I daresay he wouldn’t.”_

Claire then felt Jamie squeeze her arse. It was the upper part of her arse, but still…

_“Oh my. I fear he is rather too fond of his wife’s bottom half. Let’s go sister. You know how excitable you get.”_

_“You’re probably right, Mabel. But I do wonder what it feels like for a man to grope my…”_

_“Sister! Why, you quite shock me! What would Papa say?! We’re going home right now.”_

Jamie couldn’t hold it in another second. He burst out laughing, tears streaming from his eyes. Claire couldn’t help but join in. Curious couples around them smiled at their merriment, but otherwise ignored them. 

“Oh Jamie! Those poor dears! What must they think of us?” Claire laughed again as Jamie reached up to wipe his eyes. 

“Weel, Sassenach, I suspect Miss Martha is thinking of my hand groping her rather voluminous arse right about now.”

Both dissolved into laughter again. “How old are they, do you think?”

“Oh, Sassenach. They are both 80, if they’re a day. Their father died some 40 years ago. They are auld maids who live in that fancy house on the other side of town. Their father was a lawyer, I believe. He was known to be quite the connoisseur of fine liquor. Miss Mabel never had a suitor, but Miss Martha often talks about her one-time suitor. He went back East to work with a railroad company and was never heard from again. Miss Martha is still waiting on him to come back to marry her, poor thing.”

“Oh my. He’s never coming back, is he.”

“No, I’m afraid not, Sassenach. Word has it that he died several years ago. Miss Mabel refuses to tell her sister that, though, and destroy her hopes.”

“What a sad story!”

“I ken. They really are lovely ladies, if a bit eccentric. Their father sheltered them too much, I fear. At the very least, they dinnae ken the wonders of having someone lick their ear or squeeze their arse.”

“You know, I don’t believe I’ve ever had the opportunity to squeeze your rather lovely arse.”

“Ye haven’t? Why we should remedy that directly, dinnae ye think, Sassenach?”

“Oh, most definitely. Alas, we are on the dance floor, and…”

Jamie all but dragged her off the floor and took her back in the alley behind the general store, again. 

Turning to her, he backed her up to the wall again and kissed her rather thoroughly. He took both of her hands and brought them underneath his coat and placed them on his arse. Pulling away from her lips, he said breathily, “Grope away, love.”

Claire squeezed the tight globes of his backside. Poor Miss Martha was truly missing out. 

**********

The evening went along in much the same way. Jamie took Claire back to dance the rest of the evening and continued to whisper naughty, shocking things in her ear, inflaming her senses. Claire was quite relieved when Jamie finally proclaimed it was time to head for home. He led her to the livery stable, where he had Angus and Rupert stabled with the buggy. He quickly prepared the buggy and came out to collect Claire. 

He lifted her in then slid in beside her, taking off his coat and necktie, then unbuttoning the upper buttons of his shirt. “It’s quite warm out tonight, dinnae ye think so?”

“It is rather warm.”

They rode for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet out in the country. Claire looked about and seeing no one around, raised the hem of her skirt and stretched her legs, hooking her heels on the front of the buggy. The air cooled her damp legs and her heated blood. 

She glanced over at Jamie and saw that he eyed her bare legs like a starving man. Looking around again, and ensuring that there was truly no one around for miles (and it was dark after all), she raised her hem higher and higher until it reached her hips. For the first time, she could truly see just exactly how wet her thighs really were. The cool air teased her overheated core.

“Christ, Sassenach! What are ye doin’?”

“I’m a bit too hot, thanks to all your romancing tonight, my dear.”

Jamie looked at her, drinking in the sight of her, then made up his mind. Snapping the reins, he set the horses into a fast pace. He guided them off the road at what appeared to be a trail that led them off the road to a grassy patch with a lovely view of the dark, starry sky. They had barely gotten stopped and the brake set before Jamie was all over Claire. 

He kissed her hotly, tongues tangling deep, teeth clashing together and nipping. Jamie reached up and pulled both sides of Claire’s bodice down so that her breasts were both on high display. He sucked one nipple into his mouth, nipping and licking alternatively. Pulling away, he gave the other breast the same attention. 

Coming back to her mouth, he kissed her passionately again. Releasing her mouth, he gasped out, “Touch me, Claire! I’ll die if ye dinnae touch me soon.”

Claire reached out and undid the buttons of his trousers. His erection sprang out at her and she took him in her fist, roughly pumping him as he gasped for air. She could tell that he had been uncomfortable all evening and she discovered just what his attentions had cost him. His cock was swollen beyond its usual size, the leaking tip having left his abdomen and his trousers rather damp. He thrust into her fist one last time, then he shoved her hand down to his bollocks to give them attention. She squeezed and rolled them in her fingers. He thrust his hips up and pushed his trousers down to his feet. She heard him push his boots off to the floor of the wagon and felt him remove his socks and trousers. She moved back up and unbuttoned his shirt and helped him strip it off, leaving him quite naked, his skin glowing in the moonlight. Placing his feet up on the front of the buggy, he moved his arse down toward the edge of the seat, giving Claire better access. 

She went back to her explorations between his legs. One hand slowly fisted his cock as the other slowly traced behind his bollocks, tracing the hardened ridge that led all the way back. As she pressed in one particular spot, she heard him catch his breath and growl out loud deeply in his throat. 

“I cannae wait anymore, Claire! Please, please…,” he ground out.

He helped her remove her skirt, petticoat and bodice, tossing them to the floor. She turned so he could unlace her corset when he stopped her. “Nay. Leave it. I’ll have ye ride me in nothing but yer corset, stockings and shoes. I’ve thought of nothing else all night long!”

He pulled her on top of him and brought her down hard on him, his cock sliding home. 

“Christ, Claire! Ye are so wet!” She could feel him throbbing inside her and she knew it would be a close thing. She started to move but he held her tight.

“Give me a second. I dinnae want this to end yet. I’m so close, Claire!” 

He held her tight to him for a bit, then released her. She leaned back, her breasts swelling up and over her corset, the boning pushing them together in just the right way. His hands went to them and he squeezed them tightly. As he flicked his fingers over her tightened nipples, her inner muscles clenched around him. Both of them groaned passionately, desperate in their want. 

He ground out, “Ride me hard, Claire! Dinnae be gentle!”

Jamie held tightly to her hips, surely leaving bruises, but Claire found that she didn’t care. She rode him hard, their thighs slapping together loudly. His hands slid back to grab her arse. They squeezed and kneaded. His fingers slid further into the cleft and explored areas no one had ever touched. Any other time, she might have objected, but she was so close to falling apart that she couldn’t utter the words if she tried. As he thrust harder into her, losing their rhythm, panting and gasping for breath, he pushed on a spot near to where they were joined and she saw stars. Her inner muscles grabbed him, milking him. They both came together with a loud shout.

As they clung together, their hearts slowing and chests heaving, Jamie gently kissed Claire, their lips lingering. 

“Ye ken, I love ye? Truly.”

“I do. And I you. More than I have words to express.”

Claire wiggled around on Jamie, stretching. “Now take me home husband and get me out of this bloody corset.”

Jamie reached behind him and pulled a plaid over the both of them, providing them with some modesty in the off chance that they met up with someone. 

“Anything for milady.” He bopped her on the nose with the tip of his finger and kissed her soundly on the mouth.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Life is busy around the old prairie farm, so updates aren’t going to be too plentiful (sorry!), but I will try to get something out as quickly as I can manage it. Here’s a wee update that sort of bridges a gap. 
> 
> We left as the smut train was departing the station (haha! I loved all the comments!) after the harvest festival. As you might guess, the smut train comes with…er…consequences. 
> 
> You’ll also see for the first time that Claire knows Tall Man’s wife’s name now. Ahyoka is her name, pronounced ah-YOH-kah. If you’re anything like me, I can’t stand not knowing how to pronounce a name properly when I’m reading.

Claire woke up feeling “off”. She had overslept and noted that Jamie had already gotten up and had gone out to the fields with Will. She sluggishly dressed in a light calico dress and drifted down the stairs slowly. She noticed that Jamie had fried some eggs for himself and had bread with jam. **  
**

Good. She didn’t have to cook for him. She didn’t feel much like doing that, anyway. 

She brewed some tea for herself, not wanting anything else, and sat down at the table to sip it slowly. She wondered if she was coming down with something, or worse, if she was eating something that was spoiled without realizing it. Things could go dodgy here on the prairie quite fast, without having the modern conveniences available in the city. 

Pushing the tea away, she laid her head down upon her arms. 

Then promptly fell asleep.

**********

Jamie entered the house at noon to find his wife sound asleep at the table. He frowned at the sight, given that was not at all usual for her. She wasn’t given to taking naps. He looked around and noted the breakfast dishes scattered around the kitchen, still dirty, and no lunch prepared. He also noticed that she had only had a cup of tea. 

He had been worried about her for a little more than a week. She didn’t seem her usual sunny self. She hadn’t been eating well, claiming she wasn’t hungry. She was peckish around him and seemed sluggish. The more he fretted about it, the more she groused at him to leave her be. 

She had brushed it all off as being tired. And maybe she was. Maybe he kept her up too late at night when they really should be sleeping. Maybe she worked too hard and needed a break. 

Sighing, he quietly gathered up the breakfast dishes and took them to the dry sink to be dealt with later. He went to the smokehouse to get some meat to fry quickly. That, along with some vegetables from the garden, would suffice for the noon meal. 

He had the meat sizzling in the frying pan when he heard a chair abruptly tip over and footsteps stumbling outside. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Claire was no longer at the table and that her chair was laying on it’s side on the floor. The door had been flung open. He quickly slid the frying pan off the fire and ran to the open door.

Claire was on the porch retching into the bushes. 

**********

“Sassenach! What’s wrong?”

Claire felt Jamie’s cool hands on her neck, a damp cloth pressed to her cheek. She took the cloth and wiped her face, spitting the last bit of sick from her mouth. Gratefully accepting the glass of water, she swished it around her mouth and spit that out, as well.

She looked at the sight on her poor bushes. Jamie had grabbed a bucket of water and tossed it on her bushes, rinsing them off. 

“Thank you,” she whispered brokenly.

“Here,” Jamie took her by the arm and led her to a chair on the porch. “Sit down and catch yer breath.” 

He stroked her hair, crouching beside her, worry written all over her face. 

“I’m fine, Jamie. Really. I feel much better now.” She wasn’t lying. She did feel better. Maybe she had eaten something that was off. 

“Do ye ken what made ye sick, Claire? Ye haven’t been drinking out of the creek to the south, have ye? I’ve told ye to not drink water from a creek that isna moving.”

“Why, Jamie, I…no! No, I haven’t. I know the dangers of that. My stomach has just been feeling off for a few days and I’ve been a bit over-tired lately. I haven’t been around anyone who has been sick, either. All I know is that I wasn’t at all hungry this morning. I had a bit of tea and didn’t even finish that. Next thing I knew, I smelled that god-awful meat cooking and I bolted for the door. Why are you frying spoiled meat, anyway?”

Jamie frowned at her. “Sassenach, that meat’s no’ spoiled a bit. It’s fresh from the smokehouse.”

“Are you sure? The smell is quite revolting!”

Claire was beginning to look rather green again and Jamie stood back, alarmed that Claire would be sick again. “Ye stay right where ye are. I’m going to get Mary.”

Jamie went back into the house to get his hat and, as an after-thought, he picked up the frying pan pushed onto the back of the stove to smell it. It smelled fresh to him. He shook his head, frowning, and put the lid on the pan. 

He brought another clean damp cloth out to Claire on the porch, then ran to the stable for his horse. He galloped down the hill to Will and Mary’s house. 

**********

Mary had checked Claire over thoroughly. She wasn’t feverish. Her eyes were clear. No rashes. No nothing. Mary had rigorously quizzed Claire about all that she’d consumed. Still nothing was revealed that could be suspect.

Claire related to her that she was sure it was just something dodgy she had eaten. She was already feeling much better. That didn’t stop Mary from fluttering about her like a mother hen, ordering her back into bed. Mary had quickly made some chicken broth and made Claire eat every bite of it. Claire commented on how good it tasted and asked for another bowl, then ate that as well. 

Declaring that all was as it should be by late afternoon, Mary went back home. Jamie insisted that Claire remain in bed and coddled her the remainder of the day. 

***********

The next day, Jamie had made a pot of porridge for breakfast and saw to it that Claire ate it before he reluctantly left for the field. He left express instructions that Claire was to take it easy and that Mary was going to stop by later to make lunch. 

Feeling much more the thing, Claire went behind the house into the woods to gather a few herbs. Her supply had been dwindling, but with the harvest and putting up all the food in her stores, she hadn’t had the time to go searching for more. Within an hour, she had gathered nearly everything that she had been looking for when a sound startled her. Jumping up from her spot on the ground, she knew the second she stood up that she was in trouble. 

She promptly wilted to the ground and passed out cold. 

**********

When Claire blinked her eyes open, she saw two frowning faces hovering over her. 

Tall Man and his wife were sitting beside her. Over time, Claire had learned that Tall Man’s wife, a Cherokee, was called Ahyoka. Jamie told her that it loosely translated in English to “She brought happiness”. Claire could not properly pronounce Tall Man’s name, so she preferred to call him by the name she had coined. 

Ahyoka was fanning her with a branch of leaves from a nearby tree. Claire slowly rose to a seated position between Tall Man and Ahyoka, taking a deep breath. They spoke to each other in their native language, leaving Claire glancing between them, clueless to what they were speaking of. Ahyoka rose, walking over to an white and rust-spotted Appaloosa horse grazing nearby. She took a pouch down and brought it over to Claire. 

She motioned for Claire to follow. Tall Man helped her rise and assisted her back to the house. Ahyoka walked into the kitchen and searched for a pot. Finding one, she filled it with water (still marveling over the magic of the pump by the sink) and placed it on the stove. 

Guessing that Ahyoka intended to brew a tea, Claire lit the burner and soon the water was heated. Ahyoka took a cup from the shelf and made a tea of the herbs from her pouch. When Ahyoka handed her the cup, she wafted some of the perfume of the fragrant tea toward Claire. It smelled wonderful. Claire picked up on ginger root. She took a sip of the tea. It filled her senses with the exotic spices and quickly settled her stomach. 

Tall Man, who had been watching her closely, suddenly nodded and handed her the pouch. 

“You drink,” he motioned. He pointed to her stomach and made a swinging motion with his arms. He frowned and moved his mouth, as if preparing to say a word, then changing his mind. Finally, he said, “Bear”. He nodded, swinging his arms, again. “Bear,” pointing to her stomach.

She cocked her head, frowning, not at all understanding. She accepted the pouch of tea with thanks. Ahyoka handed her a chunk of torn off bread smothered in jam and put it in her hand, motioning for Claire to eat it. She did admit that she found herself hungrier than she thought. 

As they were preparing to leave, Claire noted that Tall Man was hungrily eyeing the pie that was sitting on the kitchen table. She was about to offer him a piece when Ahyoka took him by the arm and laughed at him, pulling him out of the house. She didn’t need to know their native language to realize that his wife laughingly informed him that he had been eating way too much pie lately as she poked him in the stomach.

**********

Later that day, Will and Jamie had come in from the fields for dinner. Mary had been busily preparing the food in the kitchen, insisting that wee Rabbie and his Auntie Claire play about outside on a quilt in the shade of the tree. Mary wouldn’t hear a word of Claire arguing how she should be helping. Mary told her that she was helping just by giving her a moment to herself in the kitchen and a break from her son.

“Ye ken, I do love wee Rabbie wi’ all my heart and I thank God every day for the gift o’ him. But there are days, Claire, that I long for peace and quiet.”

Claire laughed at that, knowing how challenging Rabbie had been as of late. He was teething and wasn’t always too pleasant to be around. Jamie had often mentioned how it was nice to see wee Rabbie…and then nice to send him home. 

At the moment, though, Rabbie was content to roll about on the quilt and reach for leaves as they fell from the tree to the ground. Claire busied herself with prying them from his soggy fingers and laughed as he squealed and launched himself onto another leaf. 

“Sassenach, time for supper!” Claire looked up to see Jamie running over to his nephew at a crouch and grabbed him, launching him into the air as Rabbie merrily squealed. Jamie extended a hand to Claire and she rose to follow him inside. 

Claire sat down at the table, ravenously piling the food onto her plate. She was thankful that her appetite had returned and that the nausea that she’d been fighting of late seemed to have abated. 

Rabbie was busy toddling around the room, cruising from place to place on wobbly legs, happily babbling. 

Will looked over fondly at his son between bites of the ham steak, proclaiming Rabbie to be the cleverest of boys for already walking about. 

“Say, Claire, what’s that the bairn has in his hand? It looks like an Indian pouch.”

Claire blinked as she looked at Rabbie slinging the pouch around as he moved shakily from one chair to another. The scene from earlier flashed before her eyes when Tall Man handed her the pouch in question. 

_Bairn_. 

_Bear_.

Good heavens. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, hey there! It’s another update! I’m avoiding doing things I really *should* be doing. So, my procrastination is benefiting y’all once again. There's a wee bit of NSFW at the end, so if you want to skip that, you can easily tell where that bit is. But, be sure to skip through that and read the last bit at the end!
> 
> We left off with Claire finally (FINALLY!) connecting the dots. She’s pregnant with a wee bairn…not bear. lol! Now, she just needs to figure out how to tell Jamie.

Claire sits stunned in the buggy out in front of Dr. Stilton’s office. She’s pregnant. As near as the doctor can tell, she’s around two months along. That would certainly account for her nausea, her intense dislike of the smell of meat cooking, and her tiredness. How she didn’t pick up on the symptoms herself is beyond her. She hadn’t even missed her monthly. She can only think that she had been so busy learning how to garden, cook, and can with Mary that she totally forgot about the mundane things. **  
**

The next thing was how to tell Jamie. Would he be happy that they were expecting? She knew that he loved playing with wee Rabbie and would certainly make a good father. But the doubts were building in her mind. How could she possibly make a good mother? She very vaguely remembered her mother. Uncle Lamb had certainly done his best, but he was not mothering material, as he was fond of reminding her. 

She had observed Mary and Rabbie, seeing how they had bonded, how she seemed to instantly just know what Rabbie needed. What if _she_ didn’t have that maternal instinct? 

Rupert and Angus huffed and shuffled, reminding Claire where she was. She drew in a deep, calming breath and snapped the reins. She headed to the general store to pick up a few items while she was in town. She hadn’t told Jamie that she was going to the doctor. She only mentioned the need for more flour and thread. 

Now she had to figure out a way to tell Jamie he was about to be a father.

**********

Claire was going through the dresser in the spare bedroom. Having everything harvested in the garden, she found herself with more free time after her trip into town. She had put off the chore of cleaning out the dresser for a rainy day. Today was just such a day. Jamie was helping down at Will’s barn with some repairs, leaving her alone for the day.

She pulled out a drawer and began to sift through the contents. Jamie had built a bigger bureau for their bedroom, so she was finally able to move her things in with his. She even made time to darn a few stockings and repair a chemise that Jamie had inadvertently torn one evening in his haste to get it off her. 

She grinned at the memory of that night. She wondered if he would still want her when she was nine months pregnant, bloated like a whale and fractious. 

Stacking the items into their new place in the drawer, she pulled out another drawer. It was a small drawer, not fit for much other than small items like gloves and the like. She had never used it, but was curious now what it held.

Shuffling through it, she found old buttons that went on jackets that belonged to Jamie. She set them aside to find where they belonged later. She tossed an old broken comb, found a new home for a pencil, and tossed a few coins that had likely come out of Jamie’s pocket into a dish where he emptied his pockets each night. In the back, she saw a stack of envelopes. Pulling them out, she looked at the address on the front.

Boston. They were the letters that came from her. 

She took the stack to the bed, retrieved her letters that had come from him, then sat down to reread them all in order. She knew exactly what they said, but she enjoyed reminiscing about that time before they had officially met. She laughed to herself when he made fun of her posh language in her letters. In retrospect, she did realize that she wrote very formally to him.

Finishing up the letters, she stacked them all nicely and wrapped them with a bit of red ribbon that she had in her sewing basket. She placed them in the back of the drawer with her stockings and garters. She wanted to save them as a keepsake. Maybe their children would read them one day and laugh at their mother’s bravado. 

It was then that she was struck with an idea. Checking the time on her watch, she had about an hour to accomplish it before Jamie came home for supper. 

Grabbing a paper and writing implement, she quickly sat down to pen a letter.

**********

“How was the trip to town, Sassenach? Did ye hear any news?” Jamie spooned a bite of the hearty beef stew into his mouth as Claire buttered pieces of bread for each of them.”

“Oh, about as usual. Mr. Miller was in the general store complaining about Mrs. Miller. Apparently, she has allergies and sneezes every three minutes. He claims you can set your watch by them. Every three minutes on the dot.”

Jamie chuckled, chewing his last bite of stew. “He is prone to over-exaggerating, too. He likes to tell tall tales, especially when it comes to fishing. A wee fish no bigger than yer little finger is suddenly the size of my own leg.”

Jamie took the bread that Claire handed him and took a big bite of it. “Sae. Anything else? Did ye check at the post office for any mail?”

Well, here it was. Now was as good a time as any.

“I did. We had a few things. One letter from Lallybroch, too.”

Jamie pushed away his empty bowl. “Oh, indeed? I was wondering when Jenny would get around tae writing.” 

Claire handed Jamie the stack of envelopes and he slowly flipped through them. She eyed him as he studied the addresses on each envelope, remarking on one here and there. Then he stopped. 

Claire held her breath. 

“I wonder where this came from? It’s only addressed to me.” He pulled out the envelope. 

Flipping it over and studying it, he said, “Huh. No return address.” He tore it open and pulled out the letter. 

“What does it say?” Claire’s voice nearly cracked with the tension that she was holding inside her. 

“It says:

> _Looking for a situation on the frontier. No experience, but willing to learn. Available in seven months. Would like to find a loving home, with a father and mother. Would like a father to teach me about farming and a mother to tell me stories. Would be interested in learning foreign languages such as Gaelic and French. If interested, please reply immediately.”_

Jamie frowned, looking up at Claire. “What a curious letter. Do ye ken anything about it? Where it might have come from?”

“In fact I do.” Claire smiled shyly.

Claire took his hand and smiled. “Read it again slowly.”

His eyes scanned the letter again, only this time his eyebrows shot up and he looked up at her in shock, his jaw dropped. “Cl…,” he swallowed and began again. “Claire? Are ye…?”

She nodded, suddenly feeling scared of how Jamie might react to the news. 

Stunned, he looked at the letter again, then looked back at her. Claire explained, “I went to the doctor today. He confirmed that I am expecting a baby. He or she will be here in about seven months. That explains why I have been sick.”

Jamie stared at her, mute.

Claire whispered, “Jamie? Say something. Are you happy?”

Suddenly, his face transformed as if the sun had broken through the clouds after a storm. Pure joy was reflected on his face as he leaped from his chair and grabbed Claire, hugging her to him. 

“Oh, Claire,” his voice broke, full of emotion. “I am, Sassenach. I am truly happy!” 

He held her back from him, looking down at her still flat tummy. He dropped to his knees and reverently framed her belly with his large hands. Leaning in, he said, “Dear wee bairn, I am, in fact, seeking just such a person in seven months. I will be yer Da and will teach ye how to ride horses and speak the _Gaidhlig_. Yer Mam, here, will hold ye and nourish ye and tell ye stories. Ye are already so loved. I cannae wait tae meet ye. Love, Da.”

Claire couldn’t contain the sob that came out of her mouth as Jamie answered, in his own way, her letter. He gently placed a kiss on her belly, then rose to take Claire in his arms, his eyes full of tears, kissing her gently on the mouth. 

He pulled away, looking at her astonishingly and whispered. “Claire, I’m gonna be a Da!

He hugged her to him and shouted, picking her up and twirling her around, “I’m gonna be a Da!!!” 

Claire laughed and held tight to him. Suddenly he stopped and carefully set her back down, “Christ, Sassenach! I’m sae sorry! I didnae think. I was sae overcome with joy that I didnae have a care for ye. Did I hurt ye?” 

He pushed her back into the chair and knelt before her, taking her hands in his. “No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Weel, ye cannae be workin’ sae hard now, ye ken? Ye have to take care o’ yerself sae our wee bairn stays put where he’s safe.”

“SHE is no bigger than the size of a bean seed now and SHE is perfectly safe.”

Jamie laughed at that and reached up to kiss her again. Claire wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer between her knees, and kissed him again. Soon the little kisses turned passionate as Jamie’s tongue found its way into Claire’s mouth, searching. Their tongues tangled and danced, mimicking what their hips were doing.

Jamie suddenly stood and lifted Claire effortlessly into his arms and carried her upstairs to their bedroom. He quickly disrobed and helped Claire out of her clothes then lowered her to the bed. He began to really look at Claire’s body, noticing the little changes in her that he hadn’t seen before. Her breasts were ever so slightly larger, her nipples taking on a darker hue. He traced the now visible bluish-hued veins that ran under the surface. Leaning down, he softly kissed each breast in turn and palmed one breast, squeezing. 

Claire gasped and grabbed his hand. Looking up at her, he saw that her face held a slight grimace of pain. “Did that hurt, Sassenach? I’m sae sorry!”

Claire trailed fingers down his cheek, cupping his face. “A bit. But they have been tender of late. The doctor said that was normal, but it would go away soon enough. Don’t stop. Just be gentle.”

“Are ye sure?”

Claire nodded. Switching gears, he made his way down to her tummy and kissed her there, seeing the barest hint of a bump, of which only he and she were aware. He lightly ran his fingers over the bump, marveling at how soft her skin was. 

He trailed a finger down between her legs and found her wanting him already. He slowly circled her core as Claire raised her hips toward him, searching for more. Claire reached down, enclosing his hardened length in her fist and squeezed as he hit a particularly sensitive spot that earned him a low moan. 

“I do like yer wee noises, _mo ghraidh_.”

“I don’t make noises,” she said rather primly, despite the low, sultry tone of her voice. 

“Oh, ye do.” He sank two lean fingers carefully inside her and proved her wrong. She nearly lost track of what her right hand was doing that made him groan low in his throat. 

Crawling back up to straddle her, he kissed her quite thoroughly. His breathing was labored and his chest was heaving, as he held back. “Claire,” he whispered. “Do ye think we…can we…?”

“It’s alright. The doctor said that I could do my ‘marital duties’ until he said otherwise.” She grinned at the beginnings of Jamie’s blush.

“He said that?”

“He did. So, if you please, I would very much like to get on with my ‘marital duties’.” Claire reached around behind him and squeezed both cheeks of his arse. 

Jamie chuckled, then quickly spread her legs and moved between them. “Ye’ll tell me if I do something that isn’t comfortable? I dinna want tae hurt ye, Claire.”

“I will.” 

Slowly, bit by bit, he entered her. When he completely filled her, he moved slowly within her, exhibiting great care. Soon enough, Claire knew what he was about. He was afraid to hurt her or the baby. She grabbed hold of him and heaved herself upwards, pushing him back to kneeling as she straddled him, taking control. 

She picked up the pace, grinding her core against his pelvis. Her heart nearly beat out of her chest as she whispered, “Kiss me, Jamie!”

He claimed her mouth, their tongues dancing together, setting a quicker pace for their thrusting hips. Claire knew she was very near the end and latched onto Jamie’s mouth as a lifeline. Their breaths echoed out harshly through their noses as their mouths clung together. Jamie moaned loudly and grabbed Claire’s hips, helping her quicken her pace. 

“Mmmmm! Claire! I’m…..mmmmm oh god…..come wi’ me now!”

Jamie’s plea heated Claire all the way to the core as she saw stars before her eyes, electricity shooting from her fingers, down her spine. She ground down on him, feeling him explode deep within her. She fell apart, leaning back, her chin pointed up and yelled his name.

**********

In the middle of the night, Claire woke up in Jamie’s arms. Her stomach was growling. 

“Jamie?” she whispered, gently shaking his shoulder.

He woke suddenly, alarmed, and sat straight up in the bed, “Wha…? Claire? Are ye alright?”

“I’m fine. But I’m hungry. Would you mind too terribly if I had you bring me a pickle?”

“A pickle?”

She nodded. “I’m really hungry.”

He sighed, stretched, then tossed back the covers and got up. “A pickle coming right up for milady.” 

Claire watched him walk around the bed, appreciating his naked form illuminated by the moonlight streaming in the window. 

As the stairs creaked on his dissent, Claire had a second thought. She yelled, “And can you put some strawberry jam on it, too?”

The creak of the stairs ceased. “Ye said…strawberry? Strawberry jam?” She clearly heard the note of disbelief in his voice. 

“Yes. Just spoon it on the pickle!”

She thought she heard what sounded very much like a disgusted “Christ!” drift up the stairs, as she heard his footsteps continue on down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: That bit about the advertisement that Claire made for Jamie was how I told my husband that we were finally pregnant after two years of heartbreaking infertility. I made cards in the form of an advertisement in the want ads for a daddy, grandparents and aunts/uncles, too, then mailed them to our family. I got many very excited calls answering all my ads. Gosh, I haven’t thought of that in years! That baby is now almost 24! {sniff}


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, we left off with Jamie finding out that he’s going to be a Da! We skip forward through the pregnancy toward the final months to begin our story (why? I dunno…9 months is a long time to drag out a story). The Smut Train has pulled into the station! If y’all don’t care for NSFW stuff, well, most of this chapter won’t work for ya. 
> 
> We’re about to the end of this story. A couple more chapters to go!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After MUCH ado, here is an update! Thanks so much for sticking with me! My iron level seems to be recovering well and I’m back to my bouncy self. Peri-menopause truly sucks the life out of ya some days.

”Are you sure?” Claire wiggles and breathes in deeply, holding it. “Try again!” **  
**

Jamie knew better than to say a single word, cognizant of how his sister Jenny reacted to such things. He tried to fasten the dress, again, without success. 

“Sassenach, I dinnae think it will work.”

Claire gave a disgusted grunt and took off the dress, tossing it onto the bed. She sat heavily onto the edge of the bed, tears leaking from her eyes.

Claire wailed, “I’m a whale, Jamieeee!”

Jamie knelt carefully in front of her, giving mindful consideration to what he would say to her. Jamie knew full well that a pregnant woman could turn on a man like a cornered she-cat. He’d been on the wrong side of that particular situation with Jenny exactly once. He learned a very valuable lesson when he had carelessly mentioned how big Jenny was getting one day. He barely survived with his head intact. 

He reached up and took her face in his hands, thumbing away the tears steadily dropping from her eyes. “Claire, ye are beautiful tae me. Ye carry our child. Each day I marvel over yer strength and how ye carry on as if nothin’ can stop ye. Every night I watch as our bairn moves within ye and grows strong. Each mark that ye despair over on yer belly is a joy and wonder tae me because ye carry the result of our love. It’s a miracle that I’ll never tire of seeing.”

Claire’s breath hitched as she listened to her husband’s reassurances. Really listened. He dried the rest of her tears and stood, pulling her into his arms. 

“When I said I love ye, _mo ghraidh_ , I meant every single inch of ye. Everything inside and out. Ye are my wife and the mother of our bairn. I thank God each day that fate brought us together.”

Claire burst into tears again, but happy tears this time. She held tight to him, wetting his shirt with her sobs. As she struggled to gain control of herself, Jamie pulled away and took her reddened face in his hands. He gently kissed her, smoothing her hair out of her face. 

“Better now?” he whispered.

“Yes. Much better.” She hugged him tight, their child kicking his father and his mother simultaneously, clearly annoyed with his (or her) lack of space.

**********

Jamie walked in later that day, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of his wife madly churning butter. Tendrils of hair were loose around her rosy, glowing face. She was beautiful. But what brought him to a halt was the sight of his wife stripped of her bodice wearing only her chemise, her corset for women in her “particular condition” and her skirt. 

He was mesmerized by the sight of her much larger breasts bobbing with the effort to churn the butter. He couldn’t tear his eyes away for all the money in the world. Her chemise was loosened at the neck in deference to the unseasonable warmth of the spring day. A trickle of sweat beaded up at her neck and slid slowly down into the ample valley between her breasts. His eyes were drawn to the trail left by the sweat. With each movement of her arms, her breasts escaped their confines bit by bit until he could just see the hint of a dark rosy nipple. Blood rushed to his groin creating an uncomfortable ache. He slowly reached down to adjust himself, cursing the bloody bugger for having no control. 

Dr. Stilton had recently informed Claire that their “marital relations” should cease until the baby was born. Up until that time, he had thoroughly enjoyed Claire’s sudden insatiable need for said “relations”. He had resigned himself to following the doctor’s instructions to the letter but a certain part of his anatomy was clearly not on board with that resolve. He had gone without any relief for two weeks now and sorely missed his wife’s attentions.

While he watched his wife from the open doorway, he couldn’t help noticing that the act of churning the butter so closely mimicked the motion of sex. As her gloriously ample arse moved up and down, he couldn’t keep from picturing her moving up and down on his now throbbing cock. Her hands squeezing the handle of the churn became her hands squeezing him where he ached. His teeth bit his lower lip as he imagined drawing that now visible dark nipple into his mouth as his other hand palmed the other. 

Jamie stood there spellbound, for several minutes, not even noticing that the movement had ceased. 

**********

Claire was so deep into her chore that she hadn’t noticed her husband standing quietly, leaning against the door frame watching her intently, eyes full of lust. She paused for a second to catch her breath when she glanced up and saw him there, his blue eyes darkened and dilated. His teeth held his bottom lip, his chest heaving. His shirt hung open, as if he’d tossed it off outside while doing his chores. Her eyes were drawn down his muscular chest to his hand hanging negligently from where his thumb was hooked into the waistband of his low-slung trousers. But what really made her eyes widen was what she saw just below his dangling hand. His erection angling down his tight trousers left her no doubt as to where his thoughts were taking him. 

She knew he was trying to heed the doctor’s orders and did her best not to give him cause for discomfort. She waited to dress while he was outside. She bathed privately. She tried to be under the covers in bed before he came up for the night. She fell asleep quickly, now that her time was closer, so she was often sound asleep before he came to bed anyway. She knew he wasn’t trying to avoid her, but just trying to make the best of their situation. 

That didn’t make her miss him any less. She missed his touch dreadfully. 

She stared at him from her spot by the churn, bent over using the handle as support. Her whole body tingled just seeing him standing there. He was truly a sight to behold. 

She knew the second he came to himself, whiskey eyes clashing with blue. He blinked several times as if coming out of a trance. She stood up slowly and motioned for him to come to her with a crooked finger.

**********

Jamie knew that he should ignore that siren’s call that wanted to drag him down a path where he knew he shouldn’t be going. But he could no more stop his feet from moving toward Claire than he could keep from breathing oxygen. He stopped before her, breathing heavily, licking his suddenly dry lips. 

“If you bite your lip one more time, James Fraser, I won’t be responsible for my actions,” the siren whispered to him. 

He cocked a single brow up at her, staring at her with eyes half closed with lust. 

_Jamie, man, dinnae bite yer lip. Dinnae. Bite. Yer. Lip._

He bit his lip. 

The siren launched herself at him, covering his mouth with her own, pushing her tongue in to tangle with his. Teeth and tongues clashed, as they leapt over the abyss into the forbidden. He struggled to get closer to Claire, given that the bairn was in the way. Recognizing his struggle, she pushed him back to lean against the table then angled her body so she straddled his leg and he was able to grind against her hip bone. 

She pushed the shirt off his arms and ran her fingernails down his chest, causing his cock to leap painfully in his trousers. He gave an agonized moan when her fingers went straight down to the bulge in his pants and pressed her palm against him. Before he could even form a coherent thought, she had his trousers down and had her skirt and petticoat scattered on the floor. Moving her attentions back to his mouth, she distracted him even further by trailing down onto his neck and sucking on a particularly sensitive spot under his ear. Gasping, he reached up to her shoulders to find them naked. 

Dazed, he pulled back to find that she had divested them of their clothes (or what she could reach). She stood before him, her chest heaving, her eyes dilated to a dark, dark brown. The blood slowly returned to his brain.

He panted, “Sassenach…Claire…we…we cannae.”

A look that only a husband recognizes (and often fears) flashed on her face. “The doctor only said that we can’t have marital relations. He didn’t say we couldn’t…erm…,” she vaguely motioned with her hand at his cock, “you know…do…other things.” 

“Oh aye? And just what ‘other things’ did ye have in mind?”

She turned them both around so that she sat on the edge of the table, nimble despite the extra weight she was burdened with. She spread her legs and leaned back on the table, braced up by her arms and winked at him, then grinned her siren’s grin at him. 

He took in the sight of her before him and knew exactly what ‘other things’ she needed. Kneeling before her, he ran his hands up her legs to her inner thighs and spread her wider. He kissed a trail up her thighs and went straight to the core of her where she was drenched with need already. He licked delicately between her folds but startled when she grabbed a handful of his red hair and ground out, “Harder! Now!”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He seized the swollen, wet bud between his lips and sucked on it. His Claire cried out and inflamed him even more, if that was even possible. Her hips rocked steadily against his mouth, faster and faster until her body seized up under him and tensed as she reached her climax. 

Slowly, Claire sat up and slid off the table, pushing him to where she had been. She pulled up a chair so she could sit before him when something came to his mind. When he had been watching her churn butter, the handle sliding into her cleavage, he could only think that he dearly wished to be that handle. Suddenly it occurred to him that he could. 

He inquired breathlessly, afraid she’d turn him down flat, “Claire, would ye think it too depraved of me if I tried something?”

“I’m yours,” she assured him. 

“When I was watchin’ ye churn butter, Sassenach, I wanted nothin’ so much as tae be that handle sliding in and out of yer lovely cleavage.” He traced a line with a finger up and down between her breasts and looked at her.

He reached behind him for the jar of lotion that Mary had given her to spread on her tummy as it grew and stretched. Dipping out a bit, he spread it between her breasts. She looked at him puzzled and he pulled her closer to him, nestling his cock into her cleavage. He pushed her breasts to surround himself as he thrust up into the slick valley. He looked at her and saw when realization hit her. Her mouth tipped up in a half smile as she took over. She replaced his hands with her own, squeezing her breasts around him. 

He whispered out, “Move wi’ me.”

He thrust in and out as she squeezed her breasts around him. He closed his eyes and threw his head back as ecstasy overtook him. She watched him carefully, judging when he was getting close as his hips lost rhythm. When his moans soon became strangled cries, she reached out with her wicked tongue and slid it over his leaking tip. That was all it took to send him over the edge as he shot thick, hot streams over her breasts and face. Claire held him there until he could breathe more regularly. Slowly he opened his eyes and what he saw would forever spice up his dreams to the end of his days. 

**********

Two weeks later, Mary and Will had stopped by to help with chores and eat lunch. Mary had left Rabbie, who was finally weaned, with Mrs. Miller that morning so that she could help Claire with preparations for the birth. They had worked hard that morning to prepare clean cloths, the linens to protect the bed, and all the other things that a birth required. Claire had already prepared all the herbs that she’d need, including what Tall Man’s wife had sent to her. Mary had admonished Claire to sit and rest several times but she ignored her warnings. Her back was killing her and movement helped. 

They had just finished up with lunch, when Claire stood to begin clearing the table. Jamie and Will were discussing the newest foal in the stables when Claire emitted a groan and leaned over, grabbing the table for support. Mary stood up and flew to Claire’s side.

Claire looked at Mary with fear in her eyes, then looked down at her feet. 

Claire stood in a puddle of water. 

Mary said, “Will, go get Dr. Stilton. Now, if ye please.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, it’s been 84 years since I updated this. I took a bit of a social media break. My head just wasn’t in the right space to write. This update is a bit short, but I’m happy with how it turned out. We left off with Claire’s water breaking at the dinner table. Mary sent Will after Doctor Stilton. Our story begins with Jamie fretting with Will out in the barn.
> 
> You’ll see this chapter is written mostly from Will’s point of view. As I thought about it, Jamie is half out of his mind with worry. He couldn’t formulate a clear thought if he tried. Claire is not thinking about anything but the pain and how many ways she plans to cut off Jamie’s private parts so she never has to go through this again. Will is the one keeping it together at the moment. I thought it would be interesting to explore that. It does switch POV’s a few times, but I think you’ll be able to keep up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m guessing that there will be about 2 more chapters to this story. One will be a flash forward of moments in time through the years. The final will be the epilogue and I’ll keep that as a surprise. 
> 
> As the year closes (buh-BYE 2020!), I wish you all a very happy and SAFE New Year. I mean, 2021 has GOTTA be better, huh?

Will put his arm around Jamie’s shoulder. He looked wretched. Will guided him to a bench in the horse barn, the farthest place Will could think to take Jamie away from the noises of childbirth. Mary had whispered to Will that Claire was struggling and getting weak, but they hoped it would be soon. 

“She’ll be fine _mo bhràthair_. Ye have to have faith in Dr. Stilton. He’ll see her through, ye ken it.”

Jamie sobbed in a breath, trying to calm himself. “Will, if she dies, I’ll never…”

Will quickly interrupted him. “Och, now! None o’ that, Sawney. She willnae die. She’s strong and ye ken it. She’ll pull through.”

Jamie looked up at Will with reddened eyes full of tears. “Ye havenae called me Sawney in a long time.” 

Will handed Jamie the bottle of whisky and told him to drink. He knew exactly how Jamie felt. The poor sod would need to get good and drunk to drown out the sounds coming from upstairs in the house. It was the only way he had survived wee Rabbie’s birth. 

Jamie tipped up the bottle and drank. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he passed the bottle back to Will, who took a drink as well. 

They heard another wail of pain coming from the house, that caused both of them to jump. Jamie leapt up from the bench, but was held back by Will’s strong hand on his arm. 

“Sit back doon. Ye ken ye willnae be o’ any help to her right now. Let Dr. Stilton manage it. If they need ye, they’ll send for ye. Mary promised ye she would come fer ye if Claire needs ye.”

Jamie sat down and dropped his head into his hands, elbows braced on his knees. “Christ, Will. Her screams tear me up. I cannae leave her, but I cannae bear tae hear it.”

Will patted his back, rubbing it consolingly. “I ken it all too weel.” He took a deep breath, shaking his head. He did ken it. Mary’s wails tore his guts out. Even to this day when Mary talks of wanting another bairn, his wame curdles at the thought of what Mary would have to endure again. 

Jamie’s wooden rosary beads hung loosely from his fingers. He’d been silently praying the entire time Claire had been in labor. 

Another wail pealed through the air, followed by Jamie’s sob of anguish.

Will pulled him tighter to him and passed him the bottle of whisky. “Here. Drink.”

**********

Jamie had likely drunk enough whisky to fell a good-sized horse. He slurred his words as he prayed the rosary out loud. 

“Blezzzzed art thou ‘mong women, and blezzzzed is…is…Will? I dinnae ken who is blezzzzed. Do ye?” Jamie swayed a bit on the bench as he elbowed a drowsing Will.

Will grinned. Jamie was sozzled. The empty whisky bottle lay between them on the bench, Jamie having consumed most of it. 

“Thy womb.”

“I dinnae have a wommmmmb, ye gob.”

“Nae. The rosary, ye eejit. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

“I dinnae think Jesus has a wommmb, either.”

Will snorted. His brother rarely got so drunk that he lost control of his senses. Had it not been for the terrifying sounds coming from the house, he would be getting quite a bit of enjoyment from his brother’s condition. In fact, he was taking note to remember some of Jamie’s best moments. He’d remind him of them later when Jamie wasn’t quite so wretched. Maybe next year. 

After all, that’s what older brothers did. 

**********

“Jamie! Jamie, wake up ye wee bastard!” Will shook him unmercifully. 

“Let me beeeee, Will,” Jamie whined. He had thankfully passed out and hadn’t heard the worst of Claire’s screams. Will had, though. It rattled his nerves and curdled his wame, remembering how they resembled Mary’s pains. 

Will shook him again. “Jamie, I think the bairn is here. Wake up!”

Jamie sat up straight as a board, eyes wide. “My bairn? Claire?”

“I dinnae ken yet. Mary will be doon here soon enough. Here,” Will handed him a cup of strong coffee, “drink this and sober up.”

Jamie took the cup and drank it, wincing as the hot liquid burned his tongue. 

Jamie rasped out, “What time is it?”

“I dinnae ken. But it is somewhere around sunrise. I hear the roosters rousing out in the coop.”

“How long have I been asleep, then?”

“Hopefully long enough to sober ye up a bit. Ye were right and proper pished auld boy.”

Jamie winced, rubbing his head. “I wasn’t pished.”

Ian snorted gleefully. This would be fun, he grinned to himself. “Oh ye were. I’ll have to remind ye sometime of the merits of Jesus’ womb when we have more time to discuss it.”

“What in the hell are ye goin’ on aboot, ye glaikit numpty?”

Will hooted. Oh, this was going to be sooooo fun!

**********

Jamie rubbed his eyes and choked down the hot, thick liquid, straining to hear anything coming from the house. He was more than worried for Claire, but also for the bairn. 

He swore to God, and anyone else who’d listen, to spare her. He’d sworn he’d never put her through this again. He could take his own pain, but to hear Claire in pain…he just couldn’t do it again. It was torture.

As he swirled the dregs of coffee grinds around in the bottom of his cup, watching them move to and fro, he was startled by Mary’s sudden appearance in the doorway of the barn. 

“Jamie.”

He blinked out of his woolgathering and looked up at Mary in the doorway holding a small bundle wrapped tightly in a blanket.

He stood, and grabbed hold of Will to gain purchase as he wobbled on his feet. Will stood beside him and held his arm for support, lest he topple over. 

He whispered, “Claire…is she…”

Mary smiled. “She’s bonny. And braw, I’ll tell ye. She had a fierce time birthing this little one here, but Dr. Stilton says she will be just fine.”

Jamie took a few tentative steps forward. 

“Would ye like tae hold yer daughter?” She passed the smallest wee bundle to Jamie. He awkwardly held out his shaking hands and took his bairn from Mary. 

“I have…I have a daughter?” 

Mary smiled and nodded, then looked suspiciously at Will. “He looks like he’s about to fall right over. Did ye have anythin’ tae do wi’ that?”

“I did, and ye ken it. The poor sod was beside himself wi’ worry.”

Will held tightly to his brother’s arm. “Here, _mo bhràthair_ ,” Will guided Jamie to the bench. “Sit ye doon afore ye fall.”

Jamie let himself be seated on the bench. He placed the bundle carefully on his lap and slowly unwrapped the blanket to see the bonniest pair of blue eyes gazing unfocused at him. His breath caught as he gently ran a finger down her pale cheek. She had his red hair and his slanted cat-like eyes. She was beautiful. 

A tear trickled down his cheek and he bent his face over to wipe his tears on his sleeve. 

His bairn. He whispered a prayer of thanksgiving over her in _Gaidhlig_. She had ten tiny fingers with nearly translucent nails and ten wee toes on her delicate feet. 

She took his breath away. 

His heart swelled with the love that he had for her instantly. He knew in that moment that he would protect her with his life. 

Will and Mary crouched before him and peered at his bairn. 

“Ah, Jamie. She’s sae bonny. She minds me o’ our Mam.”

Jamie looked up at Will, a tear trickling down his face again. “She does.”

Mary reached over and gently wrapped up the bairn again. “I think the doctor is done with Claire by now. Do ye want to go see her? I ken she’d want tae see ye both.”

Jamie stood, less wobbly this time around. He looked at his bairn, his voice soft yet full of pride. “Come wee ‘un…let’s go see yer Mam.”

***********

Jamie wasn’t prepared to see the sight of his wife laying so pale on the bed. 

“Claire,” he whispered.

He gingerly sat beside her on the bed and reached for her pale hand with his free hand. 

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up into her husband’s terrified gaze. “Are ye alright?”

She laughed softly, then winced as she shifted to a more comfortable position. “I believe I’ve had better days. You don’t look so good yourself.”

Jamie colored. “Will…weel, he…Christ, Claire,” he sheepishly scratched his head. “I might have had a wee dram or two.”

“Exactly how big were your ‘wee drams’?” Claire grinned.

The bairn in Jamie’s arms let out a bleat, not unlike a newborn lamb. Claire reached for their bairn and Jamie gently placed her in her mam’s arms. 

Claire opened the swaddling and cooed, “Are you hungry, lovey?”

Mary knocked softly on the open door and entered carrying clean linens in her arms. She sat them on the dresser and walked over to the bed. “Would ye like us to help ye sit up a bit so ye can feed the bairn, Claire?”

“Yes, please.”

Jamie and Mary eased Claire up in the bed and fluffed the pillows behind Claire. Once she was as comfortable as she could get (given that she had just pushed something the size of a watermelon out of a hole the size of a lemon), she lowered the neckline of her chemise and placed the baby’s mouth near her nipple. 

As her daughter latched on strongly, she gasped at the feeling of nursing for the first time. 

Mary said, “Ye ken, that yer milk won’t come in right away, but it willnae take long. The bairn still gets the right nutrients.”

As the three watched spellbound, Jamie whispered, “What shall we name her?”

Claire looked up at her husband. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“Weel, I thought of one, but if ye dinnae like it, we can think of something else.”

“What?”

He gently ran a finger over his daughter’s milky white cheek. “The name ‘Faith’ comes strong tae my mind. And Julia for yer mam. What do ye think of that name?”

Claire’s eyes softened and looked into Jamie’s. “It’s perfect.”

Just then, their daughter pulled away from Claire’s breast with a ‘pop’ and looked at her parents.

Claire leaned her head against Jamie’s as they gazed at their baby. She said softly, “Hallo there, Faith Julia Fraser.”

A tear trickled down her cheek, where it merged with Jamie’s own tear. It splashed onto Faith’s forehead, causing her to jump. 

Her father reached up to smooth the tear away from Faith’s forehead, drawing a cross with his thumb. 

“Hello _leannan_. It’s yer Da.”

Faith’s eye’s crossed while looking at Jamie’s finger. Laughing softly, her Da softly booped her on the nose, causing Faith to blink and uncross her eyes.

He looked at his wife’s tired eyes, half-closed and fighting to stay awake, and his heart nearly exploded with the amount of love he felt. 

“I love ye, my own.”

Claire smiled. “I love you, too.”

Jamie tenderly kissed his wife and bent to kiss Faith’s forehead.

His life and his heart were full.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, I know it’s been a minute. But I finally finished it! Today is a two-fer day. This is the final chapter of The Proposal. I’ll also post Chapter 27, the epilogue. Be sure to read them in order! 
> 
> In our last chapter, baby Faith had finally been born. Jamie was a bit worse for the the wear, as his brother Will had kept him supplied with alcohol to drown out the cries coming from the house as Claire gave birth. In this last chapter, we will see little snippets of life with the Frasers.

_**9 months later  
** _

“Jamie, LOOK!”

Claire and Jamie beamed from ear to ear as they watched their daughter stretch out a wobbly hand to her mama, who was seated on the floor. Faith let go of the chair and reached for her rabbit stuffy that Claire held in her hand, enticing Faith to walk toward her. 

Faith took a step. And another. And another.

She reached for her rabbit, stuffed it in her slobbery mouth and splatted on the floor on her bottom, chattering contentedly while chewing on her rabbit’s damp ear. 

Jamie cheered and reached for his daughter, lifting her into his arms as he elevated her to the ceiling while Faith squealed with laughter. “Aye, now that’s my bonnie wee lassie! Well done!” He brought her down and kissed her cheek, blowing raspberries on her neck as Faith squealed and laughed.

Claire beamed up at Jamie and Faith. Her heart was full, seeing Jamie and Faith together. She knew Jamie would be a good father, but seeing him in action was different. She thought she couldn’t have possibly loved him more, but in that moment, her heart completely burst and overflowed. 

**********

**_2 years later_ **

“Da, why I hafta go tae Mrs. Smiff’s house?”

Jamie adjusted Faith on the saddle as she wiggled (quite a lot). “Ye have to go have a wee visit with Mrs. Smith because yer mam is having a bairn. When ye come back, ye’ll have a wee brother or sister tae play with. Aren’t ye excited tae meet the new bairn?”

“I dinnae want a bairn,” Faith groused.

“Whyever no’?”

“Mama said I’d hafta share my stuffy and my doll. I dinnae want tae.”

“Oh, ye’ll change yer mind, I expect.”

“Da, how is the bairn gettin’ outta Mama’s tummy?”

Jamie sighed. He’d been waiting for this question. “Weel, ye see…the doctor…”

“Da,” Faith interrupted, “will I hafta share my pony wi’ the bairn?”

Jamie thanked all the powers that be that Faith had the attention span of a flea. He laughed, “No, _leannan_. The bairn can have his or her own pony.”

“Do I hafta share my biscuits?”

“No, ye eat yer own biscuits.”

“Does the bairn get borned like my pony?”

_Christ, have mercy on him._

**********

_**11 years later** _

“MAMA!” Bree screamed as she ran into the house, slamming the door behind her. 

“Good heavens above, Bree. Lower your voice!” 

“They are chasing me with something!”

She heard boots stomping on the front porch and the door flung open, hitting the wall.

Bree screamed again and hid behind Claire’s skirts.

Fergus and Willie roared and chased Bree around Claire’s skirts, holding big, slimy bullfrogs. 

“Fergus and Willie, you take those frogs out of this house right this minute or I’ll have you over my knee!”

Jamie came inside and gave a sharp, piercing whistle that brought all the noise and chasing to a complete halt. “Now, what is all the skelloch about in here?! I can hear ye all the way out by the barn.”

Bree pointed to Willie and Fergus, now holding the croaking bullfrogs behind their backs. “They were chasing me with those big frogs, Da, and Fergus was trying to make me kiss it!”

Jamie walked over to his boys and looked at them sternly. “Is this so? Are ye terrorizing yer sister, when ye ken she’s afraid of frogs?”

Shamefacedly, they looked at the ground, a bullfrog croaking behind Fergus. 

“Aye, Da,” they both said quietly.

Jamie held out a hand. “Hand them over.”

Fergus handed his frog over promptly, fearing a skelping, as he was well acquainted with them at his advanced age of 9. 

Willie, at 7 years, was more reluctant. 

“But Da! I dinnae…”

“NOW.”

Willie jumped and the bullfrog wiggled out of his grasp, jumping to seek refuge under the nearest thing he could find, which happened to be Claire’s skirts.

All chaos broke loose again. Willie tried to chase after his frog and retrieve him. Fergus yelled to cheer him on. Bree screamed bloody murder. Claire yelled for Jamie to, “DO SOMETHING!!!!”

Jamie, fresh out of patience with the whole ordeal, yelled, “OUT!!!”

His children, stunned into silence, ran out the door.

“Jamie, get this thing away from me!!!”

Jamie was on the floor, trying to get a hold of the frog as it leapt to and fro beneath Claire’s skirts. Just as he nearly had it, it jumped up onto Claire’s leg, causing Claire to scream…not unlike Bree’s screams. 

“Just hold still, Claire! I’ll have it in a second. Dinnae move!”

Jamie reached slowly for the frog, who leapt out of his reach again. He moved further underneath Claire’s skirts to grab the elusive frog. As the frog inched further up, Claire squealed again and dropped her skirts covering Jamie.

“I’ll just be a second, Claire! Let me just…”

“Errrr…Mama?”

Claire froze, as did Jamie upon hearing Faith’s shocked voice from the doorway.

“This is my friend, Joseph, from school.”

Joseph offered his hand to a very red-faced Claire. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Claire shook his hand, and blinked wide-eyed. 

“I wanted to introduce Joe to Da, but he’s…er…,” Faith waved a hand at Jamie’s boots peeking out from the side of Claire’s skirts, a suspicious lump hidden under them.

“Oh well, dear, he’s…erm…”

As luck would have it, the frog crawled further up between Claire’s legs at that moment. Claire squealed and jumped. Jamie tried to get the frog without giving himself away underneath his wife’s skirts. 

But luck was not on his side. 

He nearly had it when the frog gave a mighty croak, jumped and Claire screamed.

The frog jumped out from under Claire’s skirts as Claire batted at her legs, dancing around. Her dancing caused Jamie to go off-balance and he fell to the floor, peeking out from the side of his wife’s skirts.

Faith and Joe stood at the door, frozen, jaws comically unhinged. Faith’s eyes darted back and forth between her parents in horror. 

The bullfrog gave a mighty croak, breaking the silence, and leapt out the door between Faith and Joe. 

Thirty years later, Joe still loved telling this story to his children, delighting in his father-in-law’s discomfort. 

**********

**_9 years later_ **

As the Fraser family sat in the front of the church watching Brianna marry Roger Mackenzie, Jamie leaned over to his wife and whispered, “Claire, when did we get so auld?”

Claire wiped a tear with her hankie and whispered back, “I don’t know. When did our babies grow up right beneath our noses?”

Jamie shook his head, mournfully. “I dinnae ken. Seems like it was only yesterday that I was holdin’ yer hand as our Bree was comin’ into the world.” 

Claire shed another tear. It seemed like only yesterday that she was on that train, searching for an adventure on the prairie.

Well, she had certainly found it.

**********

_**25 years later** _

He walked through the forest, still quiet as the breeze that rustled the leaves in the trees. He was slower, less spry. He had to stop often to rest. His long hair was completely white now and his skin was leathery with age. He walked, bent over, with the aid of a sturdy stick.

He knew the great spirits were preparing to call him to join them. He wanted to make this last journey, though. 

The path was grown over and was harder to follow. He stopped often to loosen his leggings from a bush full of thorns. 

Finally, he arrived at the familiar clearing. His eyes weren’t as good as they used to be, but he could hear voices and laughter ringing clear. He could just make out the older Frasers as they sat on their porch watching their grandchildren playing in the yard. He marveled at how grown the four Fraser children were since last he’d seen them. He watched them from this spot since the day that he found the white woman. He had taken a liking to her and watched over the family, often bringing gifts for them after fruitful hunts. He could remember the taste of the pies that the white woman had made for him. Each year that passed, he watched from this spot. 

They were happy, healthy and content with life. He knew that this would be the last time he would lay eyes on them. 

Tall Man nodded and smiled. All was right with the world now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, go read Chapter 27, the epilogue...posting in about 5 minutes!


	27. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: HOLD UP THERE PARTNER! Did you read Chapter 26 first? If you didn’t, then back up a chapter! Today is a 2-fer day. Chapter 26 is the final chapter of our story, with Chapter 27 being the epilogue. Be sure to read them in order.
> 
> This epilogue jumps forward to today.

_**2021  
** _

Elizabeth wiped a tear as she sat down to go through the items in her deceased parents’ attic. She had put it off as long as she could, but now it was time. The house needed to go on the market. They had auctioned off almost everything. The chairs that rocked numerous babies and grandbabies to sleep. The recliner that her father often dozed in after a long day at work. 

All that remained was to go through the items stored in the attic. Those were family heirlooms. There was a handmade cradle that had clearly gotten quite a bit of use through the years. There was a trunk full of papers and bits of memorabilia handed down from generation to generation. 

Taking a dust rag, she gently wiped off the dust that collected on it over time. She took a breath and raised the lid. 

She found her grandfather’s old straw hat. A delicate lace-edged handkerchief that belonged to her great-great…well she didn’t really know how many times great…grandmother, Claire Fraser. 

She found the Fraser kilt that Claire’s husband, Jamie wore on special occasions. She fondly remembered how each Fraser son wore it proudly for his wedding day. It had been lovingly preserved through the years. 

Hours later, she finally had the entire trunk empty. She sorted through everything and began to stack it up to be replaced in the trunk. As she reached inside, her sweater caught on something on the lid. Cursing, she gingerly tried to loosen it from what seemed to be a hidden latch. 

Finally freeing herself, she examined the latch curiously. She pressed it, moved it to and fro. She finally twisted it and a hidden compartment popped open in the lid, a bundle of old yellowed letters wrapped in a faded ribbon falling out. 

She gingerly picked them up and examined them. They were letters addressed to James Fraser and Claire Beauchamp. She’d seen most all of the items in the trunk through the years when her mother let her look (it was expressly off limits to small hands, and she could now see why) but she had never seen the letters. She wondered if her parents had even known the letters were hidden there. The latch was very cleverly hidden, when closed. She imagined one would have kept valuables there.

Closing the trunk and shutting off the light, she took the letters down to the kitchen and sat at the island, flipping on the overhead light so she could examine them further. 

Opening the first letter, she saw a letter and a cutting from a newspaper. The newspaper clipping was yellowed and flaking off at the edges. She carefully picked it up and read it. 

> _Single 22 year old orphaned female in Boston searching for a situation on the frontier. Clear of complexion, reasonably attractive. 5 foot 8 inches in height. Willowy in stature. Educated, but not afraid to work hard. Experienced in healing. Apply to this office for information._

Elizabeth frowned. She had heard stories of her ancestors, James and Claire Fraser. He was from Scotland and she hailed from England. They both moved to the states, he to a place on the prairie called Williamsburg in Indian Territory and she to Boston. But no one ever knew how they had met up. 

Opening the letter, she read:

> _Williamsburg, Indian Territory_
> 
> _Inquiring of advertisement from your offices regarding a 22 year old orphaned female searching for a situation on the frontier. Would be interested in corresponding with the lady. 24 year old Scottish immigrant located in Indian Territory on horse farm a short distance from the AT &SF railroad. Seeking a partner. Correspond at above address._
> 
> _Jame_ s _A.M.M. Fraser_

Elizabeth gasped. She gently replaced the letter in the envelope and opened the next. And the next. 

**********

Elizabeth was startled when her phone began ringing. Good lord above. It was after midnight.

It was her husband. She answered, “Hello John.”

“Elizabeth, do you realize it’s after midnight? You’re still at the house, aren’t you? Is everything alright?”

“Oh yes, honey. Everything’s fine. I just got caught up in the best story.”

“Story? What do you mean?”

“Remember I told you my first name was from my ancestor Claire Elizabeth Fraser?”

“Yes,” John answered. He sounded tired and not a little confused. 

“Well, I found letters! Turns out she was a mail order bride!”

“A what!?”

“Yes! So, Claire was living in Boston…”

She shut off the lights and locked the door as she left, telling John the story of the greatest love of all time. 

***THE END***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And that’s the end of that one, folks. I absolutely loved this story. Parts of it are based on my husband’s very, very vague stories handed down of his great-grandmother being a mail order bride. His great-grandfather corresponded with her and they met on their wedding day. They made a home on the prairie (no Indians at that time, as the reservation was miles and miles away). To this day, we don’t know the entire story, other than bits and pieces we hear from older generations. Ancestry and other online sources have filled in quite a few blanks for us (great-grandma was TWICE DIVORCED! {gasp!}), but oh mannnn….what I wouldn’t give to know the WHOLE story, y’all. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading along and sticking with me when I didn’t update regularly. I’m still absolutely floored when folks comment (I read them all!) and say how they love this story. I’m my own worst critic, I suppose. Anyway, thank you for your encouragement. 
> 
> My next story is called The Pregnancy. I am taking on a chore of a different sort than I usually write about. This story is from a prompt that I found about a teenaged Jamie and Claire becoming pregnant. For this story, I am writing it all in full before posting it. That way, I’m more prompt with posting. lol! I’d say I’m about half-way through with it at this time. I’m really enjoying writing this one, but gah…it’s a hard story to write. Stay tuned!


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